Legislation: Reviews

Norman Baker: To ask the Leader of the House 
	(1)  if he will make it Government policy for the proposed departmental reviews of legislation to be published;
	(2)  if he will bring forward proposals to establish a new Parliamentary Joint Committee on post-legislative scrutiny;
	(3)  when he expects to publish the Government's response to the Law Commission's report on post-legislative scrutiny.

Jack Straw: Recommendations for the establishment of a joint committee on post-legislative scrutiny,and for greater commitment from Government Departments to post-enactment reviews of legislation, are contained in the Law Commission report on Post-legislative Scrutiny (Cm 6945). These and the other recommendations in the report are under active consideration by the Government. A response to the report will be issued in due course.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which sites other than Woolwich have been considered as the potential venue for shooting events for the London Olympics; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: The Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich was agreed as the venue for the Olympic and Paralympic shooting events in 2012 following feedback from the International Olympic Committee to the London Bid organisers on the original venue portfolio submitted in 2004. The original proposal was for the National Shooting Centre, Bisley, but the decision was taken to move to Woolwich in order to provide a more compact games that allowed athletes to train and compete within30 minutes travel time of the Village. The Great Britain Target Shooting Federation and International Shooting Federation (ISSF) were involved in the decisions about the venue for games shooting competitions.

Energy Usage

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to his answer of 30 January 2007,  Official Report, column 147W, what percentage of energy used on the parliamentary estate was derived from renewable resources in each year; and what targets there are for the future use of such energy.

Nick Harvey: Since 1 October 2003, approximately 10 per cent. of electricity consumed on the parliamentary estate derived from renewable sources. 10 per cent. of the electricity consumed expressed as a percentage of total energy used on the parliamentary estate in each year since 2003 is given as follows.
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 2003-04 (1)— 
			 2004-05 5.0 
			 2005-06 4.8 
			 (1)Purchase of electricity from renewable sources started during 2003-04 
		
	
	The House has instructed its supplier to provide100 per cent. of its electricity from renewable sources from 1 April 2007.

Afghanistan: Opium

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many hectares of poppy crop in Afghanistan have been eradicated since January 2006; how many hectares have been sprayed; what aid has been paid to poppy farmers; which provinces have been covered by spraying; how many farmers have been offered an alternative crop to plant; and how many farmers have begun to plant an alternative crop.

Hilary Benn: The UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) records that 15,301 hectares of poppycrop was eradicated across Afghanistan in 2006, with 95.8 per cent. of the eradication occurring after January 2006. In 2007, some 7,112 hectares of poppy have been eradicated to date. No Afghan province has been covered by spraying. The Government of Afghanistan (GoA) decided, after wide consultation and internal discussion, against the use of ground-based and aerial spraying on opium poppy crops this year.
	No direct aid has been given to opium farmers who have had their fields eradicated as this would be contrary to the GoA policy. The policy of the Afghanistan Government are to target eradication on areas where alternative livelihoods already exist. Therefore only those farmers who have alternatives will experience poppy eradication. In support of the GoA's National Drug Control Strategy (NCDS), the UK is playing a major role in supporting the development of legal livelihood opportunities in Afghanistan. DFID's Livelihood Programme is worth £150 million over three years, the majority of which is channelled through three National Priority Programmes which address the multiple constraints that prevent farmers from moving away from poppy cultivation.
	DFID's support for the National Rural Access Programme (NRAP) is helping to build essential infrastructure such as irrigation schemes, roads and bridges. This provides much needed infrastructure for economic development and also construction jobs for Afghans at the same time. DFID gave £18 million in 2005-06 for this purpose. Nearly 9,500 km of roads have been built or repaired, as well as schools, health clinics and water schemes. So far the programme has generated over 15 million days of labour.
	DFID's support for the National Solidarity Programme (NSP) is helping local communities through elected community development councils (CDC's) identify what development is most needed in their areas and then receive grants to undertake the work. DFID is providing £17 million to support NSP which has established over 16,000 CDC's across Afghanistan and funded over 22,000 projects in the areas of agriculture, education, health, irrigation, power supply, transport and water supply.
	DFID support to the Micro-Finance Investment Support Facility of Afghanistan (MISFA) is helping Afghans to invest in income-generating activities and increase their savings. DFID is providing £20 million over three years to help give small loans of around £100 to the poor, including farmers, who cannot get credit from banks. So far, over £90 million worth of loans have been given to over 230,000 Afghans including farmers, shopkeepers, tailors and builders.
	DFID has established a £3 million Research in Alternative Livelihoods Fund (RALF) in Afghanistan for applied research into natural resource-based livelihoods. The programme is looking at improved forage and milk production, the introduction of legumes, vegetable crops and saffron, and the medicinal properties of mint as viable alternatives to poppy production for farmers. Mint and saffron are showing early signs of success. The export feasibility of grapes, tomatoes, mushrooms and eggplants is also being examined. This also includes natural products, and post-harvest processing and rural services.
	In addition, DFID funds the Development of Sustainable Agriculture Livelihoods Project in the Eastern Hazarajat (SALEH) which provides new and innovative ways for farmers to make a living in Eastern Hazarajat e.g. honey bee keeping and potato farming.
	Afghan farmers often make their living through a combination of activities. These may change throughout the year, and include agriculture (crops and livestock); employment (migrant labour); remittances (from family members working away from home); and welfare (for vulnerable groups not able to work). DFID therefore supports a wide range of activities to help farmers move away from poppy cultivation and adopt alternative forms of livelihoods.

Departments: Complaints

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many complaints were received by his Department and its executive agencies in  (a) 1997-98,  (b) 2001-02 and  (c) 2005-06; and how many have been received in 2006-07 to date.

Gareth Thomas: DFID operates five complaints mechanisms, available through its website. The information for each is as follows:
	1. The public enquiry point deals with a wide range of enquiries. No data is held on what proportion of these are complaints.
	2. Freedom of Information issues: since the Freedom of Information Act came into force in 2005, we received26 requests for internal reviews in 2005-06 and 12 in 2006-07 to date.
	3. Overseas pensions issues: we received no complaints in 2005-06 or 2006-07 to date. Data is unavailable for previous years.
	4. Recruitment issues: no data is held on the number of complaints.
	5. Procurement issues: no data was held prior to 2005; in 2005-06 there were three complaints and in 2006-07 to date there has been one complaint.

Developing Countries: Children

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent estimate he has made of the number of displaced children in developing countries.

Hilary Benn: DFID has not made such an assessment. When assessing humanitarian and development needs, we rely on data from organisations which are best placed to collect and collate it. In this case, the closest figure from available data is from UNICEF, who estimate that there are 20 million children currently displaced by armed conflict or human rights violations.

Iraq: Utilities

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent estimate his Department has made of the proportion of the Iraqi population that has access to  (a) safe and stable drinking water and  (b) a stable electricity supply.

Hilary Benn: The most recent reliable data available for water supplies in Iraq comes from the Iraq living conditions survey carried out in 2004 by the Iraqi Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation and the United Nations Development Programme.
	The 2004 UN survey found that in urban areas,99 per cent. of households have access to safe drinking water (but for 33 per cent. the supply is unreliable). In rural areas, 6 per cent. of households have access to safe drinking water (but for 22 per cent. the supply is unreliable). Since 2003, donors (including DFID) have worked hard to restore supplies. As a result, the US Iraq Reconstruction Management Office (IRMO) estimates that an additional 5.4 million Iraqis have improved access to drinking water.
	IRMO estimate that electricity generation since July 2006 has fluctuated between 3,000 megawatts (MW) and 5,350 MW. The average for 2006 was 4,400 MW, just above the pre-2003 level. During the week of1-7 March, electricity availability averaged just under six hours per day in Baghdad, 12 hours in Basra and16 hours in Nasiriyah.
	Although 5,000 MW have been added to the national grid since 2003, electricity generation in Iraq is not meeting demand. This is due to several reasons: old and dilapidated infrastructure; a result of years of under-investment and mismanagement; shortage of fuel supplies; and sabotage of key facilities. Furthermore, demand has increased considerably to over 9,000 MW, with the influx of electrical goods such as refrigerators, televisions and air conditioning units.

Mauritania: Food Aid

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of reports from the United Nations World Food Programme on the supply of food to children in Mauritania; and whether the Government plans to contribute food to Mauritania.

Hilary Benn: In 2006-07, DFID has contributed £250,000 through the World Food Programme (WFP) to support feeding activities for 50,000 malnourished children and vulnerable mothers in the badly affected agro-pastoral zone in the south east of the country.
	DFID is continuing to monitor the humanitarian situation in Mauritania and the other countries inthe Sahel closely, and will maintain its flexible humanitarian support to short-term emergency, recovery and mitigation needs over the coming year. Simultaneously, DFID is providing support to tackle longer-term nutritional vulnerability in the region, as well as exploring longer-term options for improving food security. We have recently agreed to provide£1.5 million through the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) over the next three years to improve infant feeding practices in six Sahelian countries; Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Benin.

Armed Forces: Housing

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the profit-sharing scheme between HM Treasury and Annington Homes for sales of former Ministry of Defence housing and land includes provisions to take account of increases in the value of land due to  (a) planning zone changes and  (b) private development.

Derek Twigg: The Profit Share Agreement with Annington Homes Ltd (AHL) does not define "planning zone changes". However, the position is that even if AHL have not disposed of land by 2011, should planning permission has been granted on land, it will be assumed to have been sold and the market value will be established on that basis at the time.
	There are no provisions relating specifically to private development, but any increase in the value of the land (for whatever reason) will be directly passed to the Ministry of Defence.

Courts Martial

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what  (a) correspondence and  (b) instructions he issued to (i) the army prosecuting authority and (ii) unit commanders following receipt of the Attorney- General's letter on prosecutions of members of the armed forces dated 23 March 2005.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 22 February 2007
	The Attorney-General and the Secretary of State have corresponded about issues relating to military justice.
	The army prosecuting authority is an independent prosecuting authority under the general superintendence of the Attorney-General. It would have been inappropriate for there to have been correspondence betweenthe Secretary of State and the APA concerning its responsibilities relating to particular cases referred to it under the Army Act 1955, and there has been none. Nor have any instructions been issued by or on behalf of the Secretary of State to the APA, to unit commanders, or to anyone else with responsibility for the investigation or prosecution of offences.

Departments: Assets

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which fixed assets his Department sold for more than £50,000 in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06; and what the (i) sale value, (ii) purchaser and (iii) date of sale was of each asset.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to theanswers I gave him on 29 January 2007,  Official Report, column 27W and 20 February 2007,  Official Report, column 620W for information about non-property assets.
	I will place in the Library of the House a list of those sales of over £50,000, including the month of sale. I am unable to provide sale values as we are unable to assess the potential commercial interests of the large number of buyers without incurring disproportionate cost. Details of purchasers are not held centrally and could be provided at disproportionate cost only.

Avian Influenza: Halton

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who paid the catchers of the H5N1 infected turkeys at Halton; and what  (a) briefing and  (b) instructions they were given prior to undertaking that task.

Ben Bradshaw: The majority of catchers used at Holton were either employees of, or contracted to, Bernard Matthews. In addition to these individuals,a team of catchers directly contracted to my Department, but working under the supervision of Bernard Matthews were deployed to the site on Sunday 4 February. Their briefing and instructions covered health and safety, biosecurity and animal welfare considerations.
	The State Veterinary Service (SVS) supervised the catching and culling operation.
	The Health Protection Unit was fully engaged with human health risk assessments for SVS staff, farm workers and those involved in the control operation. As a precautionary measure, those involved in disease control were offered the appropriate preventive treatment with antiviral drugs (oseltamivir), seasonal flu vaccine and avian influenza personnel protective equipment, in line with established protocols.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of allowances under the UK national allocation planof the EU Emissions Trading scheme he plans tobe  (a) auctioned,  (b) sold without auction and  (c) distributed free to account holders in the Emissions Trading Registry under (i) the first phase of the scheme and (ii) the second phase of the scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The EU Emissions Trading scheme directive requires 95 per cent. of allowances to be allocated for free in Phase I and 90 per cent. of allowances to be allocated for free in Phase II.
	The UK's Phase I National Allocation plan (NAP) states that we intend to sell or auction any surplus allowances remaining in the new entrant reserve (NER). The original NER consisted of 6.3 per cent. of the total allocation and most of this has now been allocated, so the UK has been able to quantify the surplus available for auction or sale. On 23 February, DEFRA announced that we would sell somesurplus allowances through brokers. The exact number of allowances to be sold is market sensitive information.
	The UK's Phase II NAP states that we will auction7 per cent. of allowances plus any surplus NER and allowances from closures. Should the total which makes up this "auctioning pot" reach more than 10 per cent. we will cancel allowances so that we don't exceed the maximum allowed in Phase II. "Auction" encompasses sale, auction and any other routes to market for charge. The route to market will be dependent on market conditions. We expect to hold the first Phase II auction early on in this phase.

Foot and Mouth Disease: Disease Control

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what controls are imposed on imported food from countries where foot and mouth disease has existed in the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: Before a third country is approved to export to the European Union (EU), the exporting country must have:
	(i) an acceptable disease status
	(ii) a recognised standard for relevant control authorities
	(iii) guarantees with regard to compliance with EU import rules; and
	(iv) results of European Commission missions to the country.
	All meat imported from third countries must be accompanied by veterinary certification. This must confirm that the meat is derived from animals that have been subjected to a veterinary inspection during the24 hour period prior to slaughter and showed no signs of foot and mouth disease. The meat must enter the UK at designated border inspection posts, where it is subject to veterinary inspections.
	All consignments are subject to documentary and identity checks and at least 20 per cent. of consignments undergo physical checks by an official veterinary surgeon. These measures ensure import conditions are met and that the products remain in a satisfactory condition during transport.
	Meat imported from other member states is not checked at the frontier, but is subject to random checks at the point of destination.
	If there is an outbreak of disease likely to present a risk to human or animal health, Community legislation allows us to take appropriate safeguard action, which may include a ban on imports of meat from all, or parts, of that country.

Children: Day Care

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average cost is of child care for  (a) school aged and  (b) pre-school children in each region, including London.

Beverley Hughes: The Department does not hold data on the average weekly costs of child care. However the findings of a recent survey by the Daycare Trust can be found on their website;
	www.daycaretrust.org.uk
	We are doing more than ever before to make good quality child care and early education accessible and affordable. We are providing substantial help (over£2 million a day) through the tax credit system to over 395,000 lower and middle income families. The free, early education entitlement gives 12.5 hours of free provision per week to all 3 and 4-year-olds.
	London has higher child care costs than elsewhere and that is why we are contributing £11 million funding to a £33 million joint Greater London Authority, London Development Agency and DfES three year Childcare Affordability Pilot to provide 10,000 affordable child care places for lower income families.

Children: Day Care

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many child care places are provided by  (a) children's centres,  (b) daycare nurseries,  (c) neighbourhood nurseries,  (d) wraparound schools,  (e) childminders and  (f) nannies.

Beverley Hughes: The available information on the number of registered child care places for children under eight is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Table 1 Number ( 1,2)  of registered child care places for children under eight years of age by type of care England—Position at 31 March 2006 
			  Type of care  Number of places 
			 Full day care 565,700 
			 Sessional day care 237,100 
			 Childminders 322,200 
			 Out of school day care 366,500 
			 Creche day care 46,300 
			 (1) Rounded to the nearest 100 places. (2) Data Source: Ofsted 
		
	
	These figures include the number of child care places in Neighbourhood Nurseries and Children's Centres which are not available separately.
	Information on the number of child care places provider by nannies is not available. However, the Survey of Parents Demand for Childcare and Early Years Services suggests that 1 per cent. of families used nannies in the last week 2004/05.
	The latest figures on registered child care provider and places are available on the following website:
	www.ofsted.gov.uk/

Combined Heat and Power

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the planned timetable for grants for small community projects with micro-generation was; what the timetable for that programme is now; and what the reasons are for the change.

Malcolm Wicks: From April 2006 to February 2007, small scale community projects received grant support through the Low Carbon Buildings programmePhase 1. Since February they have been signposted through Phase 2. The change is the result of high demand for grants from householders. In October 2006, we re-allocated funds from within the programme to increase funds available to householders from £6.5 million to £12.7 million. To facilitate that increase in householder funding, we also took the decision to move the majority of small scale community projects to Phase 2 of the Low Carbon Buildings programme from February 2007.
	Phase 2, with a £50 million budget announced in Budget 2006, supports projects in the public and not for profit sectors with the specific aim of driving down the cost of microgeneration technologies. Phase 2 has a significant budget, which should continue to provide excellent support to small scale community projects. The plan is to commit the majority of the budget between now and March 2008, however, some projects are likely to complete over the following years.
	Small scale community projects can also continue to apply to Phase 1 Stream 2 through to March 2009, although this is a competitive process more geared to larger projects.

Electricity Generation

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of energy was produced by  (a) coal fired,  (b) gas fired and  (c) nuclear power stations in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Wicks: Fuel used in power stations as a percentage of total primary energy demand on a fuel input basis is as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Coal  Natural gas  Nuclear stations 
			 2001 12.8 10.9 8.7 
			 2002 12.3 11.7 8.6 
			 2003 13.3 11.4 8.5 
			 2004 12.8 11.9 7.6 
			 2005 13.2 11.6 7.7 
			  Source: Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2006, tables 1.1-1.3 and table 5.6 
		
	
	Electricity supplied by fuel source as a percentage of total electricity supplied(1) on an output basis is as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Coal  Natural as  Nuclear stations 
			 2001 34.1 37.8 22.6 
			 2002 32.0 40.2 21.9 
			 2003 34.7 38.2 21.6 
			 2004 33.2 40.7 19.5 
			 2005 33.6 39.1 19.6 
			 (1) Includes pumped storage  Source: Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2006, table 5.6

Electricity: Meters

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps Ofgem are taking to ensure consistent consumer protection is afforded to electricity token meter users; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Ofgem, which is responsible for regulating gas and electricity supply, has been in detailed discussion with suppliers about the recalibration of certain prepayment meters. Following these discussions, suppliers gave a series of commitments to improve their performance. Details of these commitments were published in Ofgem's recent statement of good practice on token prepayment meters and debt (available from Ofgem's website www.ofgem.gov.uk. Ofgem will monitor suppliers' progress and will consider if further consumer protection is required.

Electricity: Meters

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps Ofgem have taken to ensure that the token prepayment meter users of all electricity suppliers receive equivalent protection from the practice of backcharging; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Ofgem, which is responsible for regulating gas and electricity supply, has been in detailed discussion with suppliers about the recalibration of certain prepayment meters. Following these discussions, suppliers gave a series of commitments to improvetheir performance. The commitments vary from each supplier, depending on current practice and performance. Details of these commitments were published in Ofgem's recent statement of good practice on token prepayment meters and debt (available from Ofgem's website www.ofgem.gov.uk). Ofgem will monitor suppliers' progress and will consider whether further consumer protection is required.

Natural Gas: Imports

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what changes in capacity for importing gas he expects to come onstream in 2007.

Malcolm Wicks: Until this winter Great Britain was able to import gas by pipe-line from Norway and Belgium, and as liquefied natural gas (LNG) through the Isle of Grain LNG import terminal. During the first half of this winter our gas import capacity increased by approximately 131 million cubic metres per day (mcm/d) through a combination of a new interconnector with the Netherlands (Balgzand Bacton Line (BBL)), an expansion of the Belgian interconnector (IUK) and a major new pipeline from Norway (Langeled). The Teesside GasPort LNG import facility, with a capacity of11 mcm/d, commissioned last month.
	Further gas import projects under development include two LNG terminals at Milford Haven. These are expected to commission in late 2007 or early 2008, and will initially have a combined maximum import capacity of 57mcm/d.
	Use of gas import facilities will depend on commercial conditions, including the level of wholesale gas prices in Great Britain compared with prices in alternative markets.

Renewable Energy

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what  (a) proportion and  (b) wattage of total electricity production in the UK was produced from (i) hydropower, (ii) wind, (iii) biomass, (iv) solar and (v) geothermal in  (A) 1996,  (B) 2001 and  (C) 2006; and what his estimate is of the likely production from each of those sources in 2011.

Malcolm Wicks: The latest available information is shown in the following table. Data for 2006 will not be available until the summer of 2007. There is no significant generation using geothermal sources. The contribution of the individual technologies to the projected total generation from renewables is for the market to determine.
	
		
			   1996  2001  2005  2010 projection 
			   GWh  Percentage  GWh  Percentage  GWh  Percentage  GWh  Percentage 
			 Hydro(1) 3,392 1.0 4,056 1.1 4,961 1.2 — — 
			 Wind(2) 488 0.1 965 0.3 2,908 0.7 — — 
			 Solar photovoltaics — — 2 — 8 — — — 
			 Biofuels(3) 1,805 0.5 4,526 1.2 9,042 2.3 — — 
			 Total generation from renewables 5,685 1.6 9,549 2.5 16,919 4.2 33,300 8.3 
			 Total UK Electricity generation 350,867 100 384,786 100 400,525 100 400,000 100 
			 (1) Excludes electricity from pumped storage stations. (2) In 2005 includes electricity from shoreline wave but this amounts to less than 0.05 GWh. (3) Biofuel sources include landfill gas, sewage sludge digestion, the biodegradable part of municipal solid waste, biomass co-fired with fossil fuels, farm waste digestion, poultry litter combustion, meat and bone combustion, straw and energy crops.  Sources:  Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2006, Table 7.4, and Joint Energy Security of Supply Working Group (JESS) Seventh Report, December 2006

Legal Firearms

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many legal firearms there were in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The Chief Constable has provided the following table showing the number of legal firearms in Northern Ireland at 31 March in each of the years requested.
	
		
			  Number of firearms held on firearm certificates 
			   Total 
			 31 March 2003 142,757 
			 31 March 2004 144,647 
			 31 March 2005 144,554 
			 31 March 2006 138,302 
			 7 March 2007 136,896

Nurses

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many nursing vacancies there were in each health trust area in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years; and what the average length of time taken was to fill nursing vacancies in each health trust area in Northern Ireland over the same period.

Paul Goggins: Information on the number of current nursing vacancies in each Health Trust area in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years is presented in the following tables.
	Information on the average length of time taken to fill nursing vacancies in each Health Trust area is not available; however the number of long-term vacancies for nursing staff (i.e. vacancies which remain vacant after three months) is given as an indication of those that were particularly difficult to fill.
	The number of current qualified nursing staff vacancies has decreased from a headcount of 746 (678.45 WTE) in June 2004 to 583 (523.80 WTE) in September 2006 (although the September 2006figure shows an increase from September 2005).The number of long-term qualified nursing staff vacancies also decreased from a headcount of 252 (232.41 WTE) in June 2004 to 203 (171.45 WTE) in September 2006.
	The number of current nurse support staff vacancies has increased from a headcount of 105 (94.77 WTE) in June 2004 to 139 (119.67 WTE) in September 2006. The number of long-term nurse support staff vacancies also increased from a headcount of 22 (19.05 WTE) in June 2004 to 70 (60.41 WTE) in September 2006.
	
		
			  Number of current vacancies for nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in each Health Trust as at 30 June 2004 
			   Qualified nursing staff( 1)  Nurse support staff 
			  Trust  Headcount  WTE( 2)  Headcount  WTE( 2) 
			 Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust 64 63.72 5 5.00 
			 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust 9 7.34 1 1.00 
			 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust 73 71.32 5 4.80 
			 Causeway HSS Trust 8 7.11 0 0.00 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge Community HSS Trust 13 11.00 0 0.00 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust 9 7.68 0 0.00 
			 Down Lisburn HSS Trust 22 21.30 0 0.00 
			 Foyle Community HSS Trust 8 8.00 0 0.00 
			 Green Park Healthcare HSS Trust 40 39.60 5 4.68 
			 Homefirst Community HSS Trust 20 n/a 4 n/a 
			 Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust 102 100.00 9 8.40 
			 Newry and Mourne HSS Trust 13 13.00 0 0.00 
			 North and West Belfast HSS Trust 17 11.20 4 2.20 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust 186 161.72 33 30.11 
			 South and East Belfast HSS Trust 69 68.54 17 16.78 
			 Sperrin/Lakeland HSS Trust 24 24.00 4 4.00 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals Group HSS Trust 38 32.42 10 9.80 
			 United Hospitals Group HSS Trust 30 30.00 8 8.00 
			 Other Agencies and Board Headquarters 1 0.50 0 0.00 
			 Total 746 678.45 105 94.77 
			 (1 )Qualified nursing staff include midwives, health visitors and district nurses. (2 )Whole-time equivalent.  Note: A current vacancy is defined as an unoccupied post which the organisation was actively trying to fill.  Source: NI HPSS Trusts & Organisations 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of long-term vacancies for nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in each Health Trust as at 30 June 2004 
			   Qualified nursing staff( 1)  Nurse support staff 
			  Trust  Headcount  WTE( 2)  Headcount  WTE( 2) 
			 Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust 38 37.31 2 2.00 
			 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust 1 1.00 0 0.00 
			 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust 16 15.26 0 0.00 
			 Causeway HSS Trust 1 1.00 0 0.00 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge Community HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust 4 4.00 0 0.00 
			 Down Lisburn HSS Trust 14 14.00 0 0.00 
			 Foyle Community HSS Trust 6 6.00 0 0.00 
			 Green Park Healthcare HSS Trust 1 1.00 2 1.68 
			 Homefirst Community HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust 22 21.60 7 6.17 
			 Newry and Mourne HSS Trust 13 13.00 0 0.00 
			 North and West Belfast HSS Trust 16 10.70 4 2.20 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust 77 64.54 0 0.00 
			 South and East Belfast HSS Trust 21 21.00 5 5.00 
			 Sperrin/Lakeland HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals Group HSS Trust 14 14.00 2 2.00 
			 United Hospitals Group HSS Trust 8 8.00 0 0.00 
			 Other Agencies and Board Headquarters 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Total 252 232.41 22 19.05 
			 (1 )Qualified nursing staff include midwives, health visitors and district nurses. (2 )Whole-time equivalent.  Note: A long-term vacancy is defined as an unoccupied post which had been vacant for three months or more and which the organisation was actively trying to fill. Long-term vacancies are a sub-set of current vacancies.  Source: NI HPSS Trusts & Organisations 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of current vacancies for nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in each Health Trust as at 30 September 2005 
			   Qualified nursing staff( 1)  Nurse support staff 
			  Trust  Headcount  WTE( 2)  Headcount  WTE( 2) 
			 Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust 14 13.84 8 8.00 
			 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust 6 4.54 0 0.00 
			 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust 47 46.80 14 11.72 
			 Causeway HSS Trust 14 13.50 1 1.00 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge Community HSS Trust 1 0.47 0 0.00 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust 20 15.69 8 6.05 
			 Down Lisburn HSS Trust 22 21.42 1 1.00 
			 Foyle Community HSS Trust 12 11.10 1 0.50 
			 Green Park Healthcare HSS Trust 35 30.02 3 3.00 
			 Homefirst Community HSS Trust 22 21.00 12 12.00 
			 Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust 36 31.79 14 9.51 
			 Newry and Mourne HSS Trust 3 2.15 0 0.00 
			 North and West Belfast HSS Trust 28 23.65 21 18.58 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust 156 136.26 45 36.00 
			 South and East Belfast HSS Trust 16 16.00 0 0.00 
			 Sperrin/Lakeland HSS Trust 18 17.00 8 8.00 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals Group HSS Trust 22 20.89 6 6.00 
			 United Hospitals Group HSS Trust 12 11.60 5 4.45 
			 Other Agencies and Board Headquarters 1 1.00 0 0.00 
			 Total 485 438.72 147 125.81 
			 (1 )Qualified nursing staff include midwives, health visitors and district nurses. (2 )Whole-time equivalent.  Note: A current vacancy is defined as an unoccupied post which the organisation was actively trying to fill.  Source: NI HPSS Trusts & Organisations 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of long-term vacancies for nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in each Health Trust as at 30 September 2005 
			   Qualified nursing staff( 1)  Nurse support staff 
			  Trust  Headcount  WTE( 2)  Headcount  WTE( 2) 
			 Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust 10 9.80 3 3.00 
			 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust 17 16.80 9 6.59 
			 Causeway HSS Trust 1 1.00 0 0.00 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge Community HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust 5 3.70 0 0.00 
			 Down Lisburn HSS Trust 3 3.00 0 0.00 
			 Foyle Community HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Green Park Healthcare HSS Trust 26 21.02 3 3.00 
			 Homefirst Community HSS Trust 6 6.00 0 0.00 
			 Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust 33 28.79 13 8.51 
			 Newry and Mourne HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 North and West Belfast HSS Trust 16 12.65 6 3.58 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust 4 4.00 0 0.00 
			 South and East Belfast HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Sperrin/Lakeland HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals Group HSS Trust 5 4.47 2 2.00 
			 United Hospitals Group HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Other Agencies and Board Headquarters 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Total 126 111.23 36 26.68 
			 (1 )Qualified nursing staff include midwives, health visitors and district nurses. (2 )Whole-time equivalent.  Note: A long-term vacancy is defined as an unoccupied post which had been vacant for three months or more and which the organisation was actively trying to fill. Long-term vacancies are a sub-set of current vacancies.  Source: NI HPSS Trusts & Organisations 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of current vacancies for nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in each Health Trust as at 30 September 2006 
			   Qualified nursing staff( 1)  Nurse support staff 
			  Trust  Headcount  WTE( 2)  Headcount  WTE( 2) 
			 Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust 36 33.80 6 5.50 
			 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust 5 4.80 0 0.00 
			 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust 19 18.52 12 12.00 
			 Causeway HSS Trust 41 39.50 5 4.00 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge Community HSS Trust 11 9.54 6 5.40 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust 29 24.50 9 7.22 
			 Down Lisburn HSS Trust 7 6.56 2 1.00 
			 Foyle Community HSS Trust 8 3.55 7 5.54 
			 Green Park Healthcare HSS Trust 79 63.37 18 16.91 
			 Homefirst Community HSS Trust 42 34.98 14 9.73 
			 Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust 42 34.40 20 15.95 
			 Newry and Mourne HSS Trust 3 3.00 0 0.00 
			 North and West Belfast HSS Trust 31 27.39 18 16.23 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust 49 44.27 5 4.53 
			 South and East Belfast HSS Trust 103 99.50 0 0.00 
			 Sperrin/Lakeland HSS Trust 40 40.00 3 2.06 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals Group HSS Trust 32 30.12 8 7.60 
			 United Hospitals Group HSS Trust 6 6.00 6 6.00 
			 Other Agencies and Board Headquarters 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Total 583 523.80 139 119.67 
			 (1 )Qualified nursing staff include midwives, health visitors and district nurses. (2 )Whole-time equivalent.  Note: A current vacancy is defined as an unoccupied post which the organisation was actively trying to fill.  Source: NI HPSS Trusts & Organisations 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of long-term vacancies for nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in each Health Trust as at 30 September 2006 
			   Qualified nursing staff( 1)  Nurse support staff 
			  Trust  Headcount  WTE( 2)  Headcount  WTE( 2) 
			 Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust 13 12.86 0 0.00 
			 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust 4 3.80 0 0.00 
			 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust 10 9.52 8 8.00 
			 Causeway HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge Community HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust 4 3.06 2 1.60 
			 Down Lisburn HSS Trust 3 2.56 0 0.00 
			 Foyle Community HSS Trust 1 1.00 0 0.00 
			 Green Park Healthcare HSS Trust 44 32.00 3 3.00 
			 Homefirst Community HSS Trust 26 21.30 14 9.73 
			 Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust 37 29.40 20 15.95 
			 Newry and Mourne HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 North and West Belfast HSS Trust 21 18.86 13 12.53 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust 24 22.47 2 2.00 
			 South and East Belfast HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Sperrin/Lakeland HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals Group HSS Trust 13 11.62 8 7.60 
			 United Hospitals Group HSS Trust 3 3.00 0 0.00 
			 Other Agencies and Board Headquarters 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Total 203 171.45 70 60.41 
			 (1 )Qualified nursing staff include midwives, health visitors and district nurses. (2 )Whole-time equivalent.  Note: A long-term vacancy is defined as an unoccupied post which had been vacant for three months or more and which the organisation was actively trying to fill. Long-term vacancies are a sub-set of current vacancies.  Source: NI HPSS Trusts & Organisations

Pupils

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many schools in each education and library board area in Northern Ireland were  (a) undersubscribed and  (b) oversubscribed in each of the last three years.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			  ELB  Oversubscribed  Under-subscribed  Oversubscribed  Under-subscribed  Oversubscribed  Under-subscribed 
			 BELB 28 98 24 100 25 98 
			 WELB 37 191 34 195 34 191 
			 NEELB 32 199 33 210 31 213 
			 SEELB 24 156 20 160 24 162 
			 SELB 29 238 32 235 50 201 
			 Total 150 882 143 900 164 865 
		
	
	The information provided relates to all under-subscribed and over-subscribed primary and post primary schools in Northern Ireland.
	In order to determine over or under-subscription, the total number of year 1 or year 8 applications to each school has been compared with the approved admissions number.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what average funding per pupil was allocated to each education and library board area in each of the last six years.

Maria Eagle: The following table sets out the average funding per-pupil delegated to schools in each education and library board area under local management of schools arrangements in each of the last six years. Further funding is allocated directly to education and library boards for a wide range of services, some which benefit all pupils while others are more specifically targeted. Accordingly it is not possible to present that funding accurately on a per-pupil basis.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Education and Library Board area  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 ( 1) 2005-06 ( 1) 2006-07 
			 Belfast 2,319 2,430 2,677 2,749 3,034 3,233 
			 North-Eastern 2,171 2,227 2,482 2,584 2,862 3,052 
			 South -Eastern 2,120 2,234 2,441 2,541 2,771 2,947 
			 Southern 2,214 2,277 2,524 2,617 2,889 3,083 
			 Western 2,248 2,352 2,605 2,707 2,988 3,182 
			 (1 )Funding in 2005-06 and 2006-07 was distributed using the common funding formula. Prior to then, each funding authority used its own formula to determine allocations to schools.

Pupils: Racial Harassment

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the progress made by the Government since the publication of its Race Equality Strategy for Northern Ireland in determining the scale and nature of racist bullying in schools in Northern Ireland.

Maria Eagle: In 1999 the Department commissioned research into the nature and scale of bullying in Northern Ireland schools. The report was published in October 2002. The report recommended that managers and teachers should monitor the incidences of ethnic and religion-based bullying and this area should explicitly be included within school policies. The research is available on the Department's website at www.deni.gov.uk/rb8_2002.pdf I have also arranged for a copy to be placed in the Library.
	Following on from this research, in 2005 the Department commissioned the university of Ulster to undertake a further study into the extent and nature of bullying, including racist bullying, in Northern Ireland schools. The report will be published later this year. That will allow for a comparison with thereport published in 2002 and the identification of any change.

Businesses: Orders and Regulations

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent estimate is of the  (a) one-off cost and  (b) recurring costs of implementing the Occupational Pensions Schemes (Winding Up and Deficiency on Winding Up etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2005 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators.

James Purnell: The Occupational Pension Schemes (Winding Up, Deficiency on Winding Up and Transfer Values (Amendment) Regulations 2005 were accompanied by a regulatory impact assessment (RIA), a copy of which is available in the Library. The RIA included an assessment of the impact of the regulations on business. The cost to the relevant pensions regulatory authority of implementing the regulations, if any, is not separately identifiable.

Child Support Agency: Personnel

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many days training on average were provided to each member of staff at the Child Support Agency in each of the last five years.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty dated 14 March 2007:
	In reply to your recent parliamentary quest6ion about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of state promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many days training on average have been provided to each member of staff at the Child Support Agency in each of the last five years.
	The information requested is provided in the attached table.
	
		
			   Average days training 
			 2001-02 9.3 
			 2002-03 10.7 
			 2003-04 6.5 
			 2004-05 6.8 
			 2005-06 5.3 
			 2006-07 (1)7.9 
			 (1) Final figures will be available after 31 March 2007.  Notes: 1. This information has been calculated by dividing the total number of days training provided by the Agency by the average number of people employed by the Agency over the relevant year, this includes those people who received no training in the relevant year. 2. The figures shown for the year 2006-07 are the result of a 12-month projection of training undertaken, based on the training undertaken between March 2006 and January 2007. 3. The decreases in recorded training days since 2003-04 is caused by a number of factors including a move towards blended learning and the use of e-learning with less emphasis on classroom training.

Departments: Energy

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what strategy he has put in place for  (a) the use of renewable energy and  (b) meeting energy targets in his Department's buildings; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The Department works very closely with its Estate Partner, Land Securities Trillium to meet the targets for sustainable operations on the Government estate, which were published on 12 June 2006. A package of measures is in place to address the energy targets, including 'spend-to-save' investment in energy efficient equipment, new monitoring arrangements (which allow the identification, and subsequent rectification of anomalies in energy use) and an ongoing commitment to purchase off-site renewable energy. Regular meetings are held with sustainable development representatives from individual DWP businesses to identify potential efficiency measures and monitor progress. The Department is now assessing also the potential for on-site generation of renewable energy.
	The latest available figures for 2005-06 showthe Department consumed 327,460,763 kWhs of electricity. Of this 175,174,178 kWhs were acquired from renewable sources—this accounts for 53.5 per cent. of the total electricity consumption.
	Information on the Department's performance on all sustainability targets can be found in the Department's annual sustainable development report and the sustainable development in Government report produced by the Sustainable Development Commission.

Housing Benefit: Council Tax Benefits

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in receipt of  (a) housing benefit and  (b) council tax benefit in each year since 1990-91.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Housing benefit (HB) and community charge benefit (CCB)/council tax benefit (CTB) recipients in Great Britain, as at August each year 1990 to 2006 
			   HB  CCB/CTB 
			 1990 3,900,000 6,652,000 
			 1991 4,082,000 6,235,000 
			 1992 4,338,000 6,653,000 
			 1993 4,579,000 5,400,000 
			 1994 4,667,000 5,552,000 
			 1995 4,752,000 5,624,000 
			 1996 4,761,000 5,596,000 
			 1997 4,592,000 5,447,000 
			 1998 4,425,000 5,281,000 
			 1999 4,243,000 5,083,000 
			 2000 3,968,000 4,756,000 
			 2001 3,867,000 4,668,000 
			 2002 3,799,000 4,590,000 
			 2003 3,814,000 4,653,000 
			 2004 3,944,000 4,893,000 
			 2005 3,981,000 4,998,000 
			 2006 4,024,000 5,088,000 
			  Notes: 1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand. 3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated. 4. HB figures exclude any extended payment cases. 5. CTB replaced CCB in 1993 when council tax was introduced. 6. CCB/CTB figures exclude any Second Adult Rebate cases.  Source:  Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. caseload stock-count taken in August 1992 to August 2006. Social Security Statistics (SSS) 1993

Industrial Injuries Benefits

Terry Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claims were made for industrial injury benefit in each of the last 10 years; and of these how many were  (a) paid with another benefit and  (b) subject to clawback by the Compensation Recovery Unit.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 9 March 2007
	Information on how many claims for industrial injury benefit in each of the last 10 years were paid with another benefit is not available.
	The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  New industrial injury benefit claims( 1) 
			   Number (thousand) 
			 1996-97 78.5 
			 1997-98 93.7 
			 1998-99 73.2 
			 1999-2000 86.9 
			 2000-01 75.4 
			 2001-02 63.4 
			 2002-03 80.2 
			 2003-04 72.4 
			 2004-05 54.5 
			 2005-06(2) 49.0 
			 (1) Figures up to and including 2001-02 are based on a 10 per cent. sample. Figures from 2002-03 onwards are based on 100 per cent. data. Figures are for all industrial injuries benefit claims including reduced earning allowance, and include a small number of claims from people resident overseas. (2) Figures are provisional and subject to change.  Source: DWP Information Directorate 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of compensation claims received in compensation recovery unit, where there has been a recovery of industrial injuries disablement benefit 
			  Financial year of recovery  Number of claims 
			 2003-04 9,420 
			 2004-05 9,231 
			 2005-06 9,260 
			  Source: Compensation recovery unit management information statistics

Information Technology Projects

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what information technology projects have  (a) been cancelled and  (b) placed under review by his Department in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The Department undertakes a large number of projects which deliver business change and policy initiatives. IT changes are an enabling component of many projects. The number of projects in train at any one time will vary and the duration of the project lifecycle is often more than one calendar year. The following table includes only those projects that have been formally closed where the IT element is such that non-delivery of the IT would significantly damage the project's ability to deliver its intended results and the investment in the project has exceeded £1 million.
	
		
			  Project name  Contractors involved  Investment expenditure (£ million) 
			 Document management (closed 2006-07) None appointed at time of cancellation 1.4 
			 Retirement planner (closed 2004-05) Accenture as Solution Provider EDS as Solution Operator 11.2 
			 E-enabled retirement pension (closed 2006-07) EDS 1.8 
			 Benefits processing replacement programme (BPRP) (closed 2006-07) IBM: solution design services. PA Consulting: client side programme management and implementation support. (1)135 
			 (1 )Including future commitments. 
		
	
	The figure for BPRP is some £8 million less than that provided in the answer given on 6 February 2007,  Official Report, column 863W. An external audit is now expected to confirm total cost and forward commitments on BPRP of around £135 million.
	A significant amount of the investment in BPRP is of future value to the Department. We estimate that at least half of the sum invested (around £73 million) is of future value to the Department.
	The Department has a comprehensive monitoring system in place to ensure that projects and programmes continue to deliver value for money, make effective use of departmental resources and continue to meet departmental objectives throughout their development. As such all projects and programmes are subject to periodic comprehensive reviews.

Jobcentre Plus

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which Jobcentre Plus offices have had their hours of opening to the public reduced in  (a) the last (i) six months and (ii) 12 months and  (b) the last two years.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 23 November 2007
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 14 March 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about how many Jobcentre Plus offices have had their hours of opening to the public reduced in the last (a) (i) six months and (ii) 12 months, and (b) the last two years. This is something, which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	A total of 96 Jobcentre Plus sites have had a reduction in opening hours in the two years to February 2007. This information is gathered at a Jobcentre Plus district level, and is set out in the attached table, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
	I hope this is helpful.
	
		
			  ANNEX A: Jobcentre Plus—Offices operating reduced opening hours 
			  6 months  12 months  24 months 
			 Alton Abingdon Aldershot 
			 Beccles Aylesbury Andover 
			 Belper Banbury Ashford 
			 Bermondsey Blandford Axminster 
			 Harwich Bletchley Basingstoke 
			 Highfields Bracknell Bishops Stortford 
			 Lutterworth Brixham Bridport 
			 Mildenhall Chesham Brynmawr 
			 Penarth Didcot High Burnham on Sea Cefn 
			 Petersfield Downham Mawr 
			 Stowmarket Market Chard 
			 — Felixstowe Colchester 
			 — Helston Conwy 
			 — Hunstanton Cosham 
			 — Hyson Green Deal and Whitstable 
			 — Lampeter Denbigh 
			 — Leiston Dorchester Eastleigh 
			 — Llandeilo Exmouth 
			 — Llandyssul Fareham 
			 — Maidenhead Farnborough 
			 — Milton Gosport 
			 — Keynes Harehills Ryedale 
			 — Netherfield Havant 
			 — Newbury Hayle 
			 — Oxford Hucknall 
			 — Reading Ilfracombe 
			 — Shaftesbury Ledbury 
			 — Slough Llangollen 
			 — Witney Llanrwst 
			 — Woodbridge Looe 
			 — Wycombe Newbridge 
			 — — Newport 
			 — — North Ryde Petersfield 
			 — — Pontlottyn Portsmouth 
			 — — Central 
			 — — Portsmouth 
			 — — Prestatyn 
			 — — Richmond (Yorkshire) 
			 — — Risca 
			 — — St. Ives 
			 — — Saltash 
			 — — Shanklin 
			 — — Shaw 
			 — — Southampton B 
			 — — Southampton C 
			 — — Swaffham 
			 — — Tavistock Wadebridge 
			 — — Wareham 
			 — — Whitby 
			 — — Wimborne 
			 — — Winchester 
			 — — Woolston 
			 — — Ystrad Mynach 
			 11 29 57 
			  Note: Hertford (East of England) was operating reduced hours 12 months ago, but is now operating full-time hours.

National Insurance Numbers

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether national insurance numbers will be issued to  (a) non-working and  (b) self-employed migrants to the UK from (i) Bulgaria and (ii) Romania after their accession to the EU.

James Plaskitt: The allocation of a national insurance number (NINO) is dependent upon satisfying certain employment and benefit-related criteria. Individuals who are employed, self-employed, in receipt of benefit, or the partner of a benefit claimant can be eligible for a NINO.
	A non-working Bulgarian or Romanian national would be allocated with a NINO in order to apply for a benefit subject to satisfying the relevant benefit entitlement criteria and identity requirements. There are limited circumstances in which benefit entitlement would arise. For example a highly skilled migrant who holds an EEA registration certificate annotated to say that they have unrestricted access to the UK labour market and who meets the normal conditions of entitlement for income-based jobseeker's allowance.
	A "right to work" condition was introduced into the NINO allocation and decision making processfor employment-related applications. This was implemented in July 2006. Bulgarian and Romanian nationals who apply for a NINO for the purposes of self-employment will need to provide proof of their right to work in the UK, their self-employment status, and their identity before a NINO would be allocated.

Pathways to Work

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been subject to mandatory work-focused interviews as part of the Pathways to Work pilots since their inception; and in how many cases such an interview has been waived in the case of people with  (a) certain infectious and parasitic diseases,  (b) neoplasms,  (c) diseases of the blood and blood forming organs and certain diseases involving the immune mechanism,  (d) endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases,  (e) mental and behavioural disorders,  (f) diseases of the nervous system,  (g) diseases of the eye and adnexa,  (h) diseases of the ear and mastoid process,  (i) diseases of the circulatory system,  (j) diseases of the respiratory system,  (k) factors influencing health status and contact with health services,  (l) diseases of the digestive system,  (m) diseases of the skin and subcutaneous system,  (n) diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue,  (o) diseases of the genitourinary system,  (p) pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium,  (q) certain conditions originating in the perinatal period,  (r) congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities,  (s) symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified and  (t) injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes.

Jim Murphy: 114,430 new incapacity benefit customers have been subject to mandatory work focused interviews as part of Pathways to Work. Of these, 9,050 initial work focused interviews were waived.
	26,580 incapacity benefit customers who are part of the extension of Pathways to existing customers have been subject to mandatory work focused interviews. Of these, 7,580 work focused interviews have been waived.
	The breakdown of waivers by condition type is in the following table:
	
		
			   Mandated new incapacity benefit customers  Mandatory extension to existing customers 
			 Certain Infectious and Parasitic Diseases 50 30 
			 Neoplasms 660 110 
			 Diseases of the blood 10 10 
			 Endocrine, Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases 60 110 
			 Mental and Behavioural Disorders 1,830 2,530 
			 Diseases of the Nervous System 290 320 
			 Diseases of the Eye and Adnexa 30 20 
			 Diseases of the Ear and Mastoid Process 10 30 
			 Diseases of the Circulatory System 340 430 
			 Diseases of the Respiratory System 140 190 
			 Diseases of the Digestive System 100 110 
			 Diseases of the Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue 30 30 
			 Diseases of the Musculoskeletal system and Connective Tissue 590 1,440 
			 Diseases of the Genitourinary System 60 50 
			 Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Puerperium 50 10 
			 Congenital Malformations and Deformations 10 0 
			 Symptoms, Signs and Abnormal Clinical and Laboratory findings 510 770 
			 Injury Poisoning and other consequences of external causes 260 280 
			 Hospital investigations, treatment, observation 100 60 
			 Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy (with cytotoxic drugs) 70 10 
			 Acquired absence of limb 10 10 
			 Not Yet Diagnosed 0 0 
			 Surgical Treatment 130 120 
			 Terminally ill 0 0 
			 Unknown 3,720 920 
			 Total 9,050 7,580 
			  Note: All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: Pathways to Work Evaluation Database (data to the end of June 2006)

Pathways to Work

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what improvement in employment outcomes has taken place in the Pathways to Work pilot areas for  (a) all participants,  (b) participants over 50 years,  (c) participants whose first reason for claiming incapacity is mental ill-health and  (d) all participants with mental ill-health.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 30 November 2006
	Information is not available in the format requested. However, early findings from the independent research conducted by the Institute for Fiscal Studies Early quantitative evidence on the impact of the Pathways to Work pilots, DWP Research Report No. 354, shows for all participants, a 9.5 per cent. increase in the proportion of people who are employed 10 and a half months after claiming incapacity benefit. For participants over the age of 45, the increase in the proportion of people who are employed 10 and a half months after claiming incapacity benefit was 12 per cent.
	For participants whose health problem is a mental health condition, there has been no significant impact on the proportion of people who are employed 10 and a half months after claiming incapacity benefit.
	Our internal analysis has found that in terms of the net impact of Pathways to Work, those with a mental health or behavioural disorder have fared as well as other customers in terms of off-flows from benefit. One-to-one research with personal advisers and practitioners has found many examples of incapacity benefit customers helped by our Condition Management Pathways in Pathways areas.

Pensions: Overseas Residence

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the policy reasons are for the different rules which apply to providing index-linked pensions to British pensioners living in Canada and the United States.

James Purnell: The UK has a full reciprocal social security agreement with the United States covering a range of contributory social security benefits for people moving between the countries, including provision allowing annual UK state pension uprating increases to be paid.
	The arrangement with Canada is very limited in scope and does not allow annual UK state pension uprating increases. The arrangement, which was first entered into in 1959, helps only persons coming to the UK from Canada. For retirement pension purposes, it allows former residents of Canada to qualify for an enhanced amount of UK basic state pension by treating periods of residence in Canada as periods when UK national insurance contributions had been paid, provided the person has resided in the UK for10 years following arrival or return here. There is no corresponding arrangement that would help a person going from the UK to Canada to qualify for either UK or Canadian benefits on taking up residence there.
	An agreement between the UK and the USA, which was concluded in 1969, allowed future annual uprating increases, that became payable after its coming into force, to be paid to UK pensioners living in the USA. Talks were subsequently held with Canada about a possible similar agreement. However, Canadian legislation prevented payment of Canadian old age security pension (COASP) under reciprocal agreements with other countries, ruling out the scope for reciprocity in the export of pensions. Although this legislation was amended in 1977 to allow COASP to be paid outside Canada, UK Ministers at that time decided, in line with the UK's general policy on frozen pensions, that insufficient resources were available for increasing the rates of UK pension payable in Canada. The arrangement between the UK and Canada was updated at the time, to reflect the developments in Canadian legislation, but the changes to it were limited to ensuring that there was no double concurrent provision of both countries' pensions for former Canadian residents living in the UK.

Pensions: Retail Sector

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact on the pension fund of an individual on median earnings saving in the proposed personal accounts aged  (a) 25,  (b) 35 and  (c) 45 in full-time employment contributing to an exempt employer scheme of a waiting period of (i) three months, (ii) six months, (iii) nine months and (iv) 12 months where the individual changes employer in line with the average frequency in (A) the retail sector and (B) the hospitality sector.

James Purnell: The information is not available in the form requested because the samples are too small to provide statistically reliable turnover rates for the two industries separately.
	The calculations in the following table are therefore based upon a turnover rate for the retail and hospitality sectors combined.
	
		
			  Fall in fund values for different waiting periods 
			   Reduction in expected value of fund for different waiting periods (%) 
			  Age in 2012  3 months  6 months  9 months  12 months 
			 25 7 13 21 27 
			 35 7 13 20 26 
			 45 7 13 20 27 
			  Notes: 1. The calculations assume that the individual has a series of jobs, each 44 months long, until state pension age. Small variations in the percentage by age depend upon the length of their last job, which affects the total percentage of their career spent waiting to enter a scheme. 2. Based on a turnover rate of 27 per cent. of individuals for the retail and hospitality sectors combined (Labour Force Survey 2005).

Social Security Benefits: Disabled

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to improve access to existing benefits for disabled people by increasing the number of face-to-face assessments and home visits for initial applications; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The Disability and Carers Service with Job Centre plus and the Pension Service is developing proposals to extend our provision for visiting disabled customers in their own homes and other places convenient for them. This will include among other things, face to face assessments and help to complete application forms. We are conducting pilots to test the capacity of Pension Service staff to carry out all of the visits needed for attendance allowance and disability living allowance purposes. The Pension Service is also developing new and efficient methods of delivering face to face contact by working with its external partners.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate, for each financial year since 1978-79, the number of women who were born in 1945 and who in the year in question were recorded  (a) with a qualifying year for retirement pension on the basis of National Insurance contributions or credits and  (b) without a qualifying year, showing separately in each case (i) the number receiving Home Responsibility Protection and (ii) the number with a Class 1 reduced rate election.

James Purnell: holding answer 27 February 2007
	The information available is set out in the following table. The second column of the table shows the number of women born in 1945-46 who qualified for basic state pension through contributions and/or credits for each financial year from 1978-79 to 2003-04  (a). The third column shows the number of women born in 1945-46 who did not qualify for basic state pension through contributions and/or credits for each financial year from 1978-79 to 2003-04  (b). The fourth and fifth columns show the number of these women with Home Responsibilities Protection  (b)(i) and the number with a class 1 reduced rate election  (b)(ii), respectively, for each financial year.
	
		
			Not qualifying for basic state pension through contributions and/or credits 
			   Qualifying for basic state pension through contributions and/or credits (a)  All (b)  Number with Home Responsibilities Protection (b)(i)  Number with a class 1 reduced rate election (b)(ii) 
			 1978-79 80,000 240,000 90,000 110,000 
			 1979-80 90,000 240,000 100,000 100,000 
			 1980-81 100,000 230,000 110,000 80,000 
			 1981-82 110,000 220,000 130,000 70,000 
			 1982-83 120,000 220,000 130,000 60,000 
			 1983-84 130,000 210,000 130,000 60,000 
			 1984-85 130,000 200,000 130,000 50,000 
			 1985-86 150,000 180,000 110,000 50,000 
			 1986-87 160,000 170,000 100,000 40,000 
			 1987-88 170,000 160,000 90,000 40,000 
			 1988-89 180,000 150,000 80,000 40,000 
			 1989-90 200,000 130,000 70,000 40,000 
			 1990-91 210,000 120,000 60,000 30,000 
			 1991-92 210,000 110,000 50,000 30,000 
			 1992-93 220,000 100,000 50,000 30,000 
			 1993-94 230,000 100,000 40,000 20,000 
			 1994-95 230,000 90,000 30,000 20,000 
			 1995-96 230,000 80,000 30,000 20,000 
			 1996-97 250,000 70,000 20,000 20,000 
			 1997-98 240,000 60,000 20,000 20,000 
			 1998-99 240,000 60,000 10,000 10,000 
			 1999-2000 250,000 50,000 10,000 10,000 
			 2000-01 260,000 40,000 10,000 0 
			 2001-02 250,000 40,000 10,000 0 
			 2002-03 260,000 40,000 0 0 
			 2003-04 250,000 40,000 0 0 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10,000. 2. Figures refer to women living in the UK and overseas.  Source: Lifetime Labour Market Database 2, 2006 release.

Widowed Parents Allowance

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are in receipt of widowed parent's allowance.

James Plaskitt: As at August 2006, the most recent available figure, there were 37,060 people in receipt of widowed parents allowance in Great Britain.

Belarus: Human Rights

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps she is taking at the United Nations to encourage action against Belarus on human rights.

Geoff Hoon: The UK and the EU take every opportunity in the UN Human Rights Council and the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, to express our continuing concerns about Belarus' human rights record. The UN Special Rapporteur on Belarus presented a report to the Human Rights Council in September 2006. The EU spoke in the council's dialogue with the Rapporteur, expressing concern about the further weakening of the independence of the judiciary, intimidation of civil society activists, detention of political prisoners, and the situation of minority groups in Belarus. We will continue to use dialogues with the Special Rapporteur on Belarus, and other relevant UN Special Rapporteurs, to register our concerns and press for improvements.
	In November 2006, EU members co-sponsored a resolution on Belarus in the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly. It was duly adopted there and subsequently in the plenary session of the General Assembly. The resolution expressed deep concern at the deteriorating human rights situation in Belarus, including Belarus' failure to co-operate with the UN human rights mechanisms; its failure to conduct free and fair elections, including the detention and arrest of political and civil society activists; and persistent reports of harassment and closure of non-governmental organisations, national minority groups, independent media outlets, religious groups, opposition political parties and independent trade unions.

Housing: Flood Control

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the proportion of new  (a) housing and  (b) commercial developments which are able to withstand the effects of flooding.

Yvette Cooper: No data is available on the proportion of new residential or commercial developments able to withstand the effects of flooding.
	The consideration of flood risk in new development by the planning process is covered by Planning Policy Statement 25 "Development and Flood Risk". This advises that where flood risk cannot be removed by seeking a lower-risk location for the proposed development, or by taking other mitigating measures, but where it is still desirable for that development to proceed, the measures to manage the remaining risk should include the use of flood resistant and resilient construction.
	We have carried out research into improving the flood resistance and resilience of new building and expect to publish a guide on these matters shortly.
	Planning control only applies to applications for new development. Flood resistance and resilience is also of importance to existing development, broadly 10 per cent. of which in England is in the higher flood-risk areas as mapped by the Environment Agency.We published guidance for existing buildings in "Preparing for Floods" in 2002, and revised it in2003.

Housing: Greater London

Andrew Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much housing-related Supporting People funding was made available in each local authority in London in each year since its inception.

Phil Woolas: The Supporting People programme grant payable to London boroughs since the commencement of the Supporting People programme is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			  London borough  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Barking and Dagenham 4,544,327 4,997,640 4,829,776 4,774,078 5,061,217 
			 Barnet 7,542,572 7,490,089 7,210,584 7,118,201 7,497,667 
			 Bexley 2,809,055 2,777,648 2,776,759 2,776,454 2,984,688 
			 Brent 13,685,359 13,723,511 13,032,318 12,806,959 12,806,959 
			 Bromley 5,656,336 5,645,494 5,361,155 5,268,448 5,428,129 
			 Camden 40,496,526 39,696,525 37,242,715 36,452,312 35,723,266 
			 City of London 760,118 741,115 703,788 691,618 698,534 
			 Croydon 9,102,163 8,881,039 8,572,165 8,469,806 8,951,651 
			 Ealing 11,577,064 11,643,789 11,103,991 10,927,251 11,125,397 
			 Enfield 11,971,237 11,849,724 11,252,905 11,058,316 11,055,312 
			 Greenwich 9,607,127 9,505,899 9,113,923 8,984,893 9,302,736 
			 Hackney 24,509,011 24,114,767 22,900,212 22,504,214 22,221,917 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 14,112,586 13,932,752 13,231,020 13,002,225 12,826,145 
			 Haringey 23,764,720 23,323,001 22,148,323 21,765,327 21,330,020 
			 Harrow 3,619,539 3,624,556 3,498,300 3,456,462 3,582,678 
			 Havering 2,573,753 2,550,490 2,460,000 2,430,034 2,578,536 
			 Hillingdon 6,145,631 6,239,503 5,925,247 5,822,786 5,954,047 
			 Hounslow 5,500,202 5,614,200 5,423,405 5,360,124 5,525,734 
			 Islington 16,802,429 16,551,521 15,901,079 15,686,535 15,934,504 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 12,128,322 12,205,258 11,590,533 11,390,106 11,170,507 
			 Kingston 4,755,200 4,720,995 4,483,219 4,405,694 4,405,694 
			 Lambeth 22,565,449 22,112,120 20,998,429 20,635,317 20,792,197 
			 Lewisham 18,671,575 18,452,195 17,522,839 17,219,829 17,219,829 
			 Merton 3,583,735 3,523,216 3,345,767 3,287,911 3,385,278 
			 Newham 11,355,458 11,272,635 10,855,567 10,717,671 11,068,502 
			 Redbridge 4,466,479 4,394,844 4,258,705 4,213,412 4,467,863 
			 Southwark 20,184,059 20,108,613 19,095,830 18,765,619 18,765,619 
			 Sutton 3,755,546 3,833,837 3,640,743 3,577,786 3,667,041 
			 Tower Hamlets 15,539,395 15,732,633 15,166,392 14,978,978 15,384,899 
			 Waltham Forest 7,940,350 7,967,877 7,666,158 7,566,490 7,882,823 
			 Wandsworth 11,815,116 11,860,631 11,263,263 11,068,495 11,177,258 
			 Westminster 18,488,309 18,250,145 17,330,965 17,031,272 17,051,638

Housing: Standards

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many arm's length management organisation (ALMO) managed residential properties have received a complete new set of windows since the start of the ALMO programme in April 2002; and how many received a complete new set in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available.

Yvette Cooper: The following table, based on returns from local authorities, shows the number of dwellings managed by ALMOs on which capital works on windows (installation, replacement or major repairs) were undertaken in each year since 2002-03 and the total expenditure on such works. We do not collect separate data on the number of dwellings where complete new sets of windows are installed.
	
		
			  Capital works on windows in dwellings managed by ALMOs 
			   Dwellings  £ million 
			 2002-03 7,437 17.830 
			 2003-04 24,096 58.748 
			 2004-05 35,579 87.141 
			 2005-06 46,199 149.080 
			 2006-07 (forecast) 57,085 211.224 
			 Total 170,396 524.023

Asylum: Children

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unaccompanied children claimed asylum in the UK in each year between 1997 and 2006.

Liam Byrne: The following table shows the total numbers of asylum applications received from unaccompanied asylum seeking children for each year between 1997 and 2006.
	Further information on unaccompanied asylum seeking children is published quarterly and annually. Copies of these publications and others relating to immigration to the UK are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
	
		
			  Unaccompanied asylum seeking children applications( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)  received in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, 1997-2006 
			   Total UASC applications 
			 1997 1,100 
			 1998 3,035 
			 1999 3,350 
			 2000 2,735 
			 2001 3,470 
			 2002 6,200 
			 2003 3,180 
			 2004 2,990 
			 2005 (6) 2,965 
			 2006 (6) 2,850 
			 (1) Figures rounded to nearest 5. (2) Figures exclude cases where the age of the applicant is disputed. (3) An unaccompanied asylum seeking child (UASC) is an individual who is under 18 (or if there is no proof is determined to be under 18), and is applying for asylum in his/her own right; and is separated from both parents and not being cared for by an adult who by law or custom has responsibility to do so. (4) Figures exclude age dispute cases. (5) Data obtained from electronic sources from 2002 and not comparable with prior manual counts. (6) Provisional figures.

Departments: Energy

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what strategy he has put in place for  (a) the use of renewable energy and  (b) meeting energy targets in his Department's buildings; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: In 2004-05, the latest year for which figures have been published, 17 per cent. of the electricity consumed by the Home Office was acquired from renewable sources.
	This exceeds the new sustainable operations targets (SOGE) announced by the Prime Minister in June this year, which requires Departments to source at least10 per cent. of electricity from renewable sources by31 March 2008.
	The Home Office continues to explore opportunities to further increase the amount of renewable electricity acquired from renewable sources both with suppliers and through self generation.
	The Department has recently agreed a strategy that will enable us to address the remaining SOGE energy targets which require improvements in energy efficiency, reduction in carbon emissions and offsetting those emissions that cannot be reduced. Our central sustainable development policy team will shortly begin work on action plans to meet the following:
	increased Combined Heat and Power (CHP) uptake via central energy procurement initiatives and within new builds and major refurbishment projects
	introducing pilot schemes as a first step towards a fully fledged carbon neutrality strategy for the office estate
	participation in the OGC benchmarking scheme for the office estate which, among other aspects, looks at energy performance and will inform the setting of improvement targets.
	These initiatives will be supported by more reliable data systems that will be realised through our new shared service operations, as well as by procurement initiatives and funding for energy efficiency programmes to reduce emissions and for carbon offset projects.

Immigration Controls: Fishguard

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many suspected illegal immigrants have been stopped by  (a) Immigration and Nationality Directorate officials and  (b) the police at the ports of (i) Fishguard and (ii) Pembroke Dock since 2005.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 5 March 2007
	Passenger ferries at Fishguard and Pembroke Dock arrive from Rosslaire in the Republic of Ireland which is part of the common travel area (CTA). The Immigration (Control of Entry through Ireland) Order 1972 sets out the laws under which foreign nationals are deemed to be given leave to enter when travelling within the CTA. There are police controls in place at Fishguard and Pembroke Dock.
	The following table sets out the number of suspected illegal immigrants stopped by police at these ports.
	
		
			  Suspected illegal immigrants stopped by ports police officers 
			   Fishguard port  Pembroke Dock port 
			 2005 48 18 
			 2006 42 21 
			 2007 (January and February) 8 6 
			 Total 98 45 
			  Notes: 1. The figures shown relate to those individuals spoken to by police officers on suspicion of illegal immigration. 2. The data provided is based on locally collated management information which may be subject to change and is not representative of national statistics.

Offenders: Deportation

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign prisoners were deported in  (a) October,  (b) November and  (c) December 2006.

Liam Byrne: The Director General of the Immigration Nationality Directorate, Lin Homer, wrote to the Home Affairs Committee on 12 December 2006 and 19 February 2007 setting out deportation consideration and deportation action taken since April this year. A copy of these letters have been placed in the Library.

Prison Service: Working Hours

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the new Contract Supplementary Hours Scheme was introduced to the Prison Service; what the reasons were for its introduction; when the use of the scheme was extended; and what the reasons were for the extension.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Contact Supplementary Hours scheme was first introduced in April 2001 to overcome staff recruitment and retention difficulties in the South East which were affecting the Prison Service's ability to deliver decent prisoner regimes. The scheme was extended across the Prison Service from 30 April 2002 to provide operational flexibility and arrangements formulised through Prison Service Instruction 26/2003 in June 2003. The scheme can be activated locally by individual Governors when staff vacancies occur in order to maintain regime delivery. Participation on the scheme is entirely voluntary.

Prisoners: Foreigners

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals were held in UK prisons on 30 December 2006, broken down by  (a) nationality and  (b) offence.

John Reid: holding answer 2 March 2007
	Information on the numbers of foreign national prisoners detained in prison establishments in England and Wales on 31 December 2006 by  (a) nationality (all detained prisoners) and  (b) offence group by nationality (prisoners under immediate custodial sentence) can be found in the following tables.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.
	
		
			  Table A: Population in prison by nationality and sex England and Wales 31 December 2006 
			  Nationality  Male  Female  Total 
			 All nationalities 74,236 4,293 78,529 
			 UK nationals 63,157 3,283 66,440 
			 Foreign nationals 10,279 915 11,195 
			 Not recorded 800 95 894 
			 
			  Total Africa 2,840 357 3,197 
			 Angola 81 2 83 
			 Burundi 8 3 12 
			 Dahomey (Benin) 7 — 7 
			 Botswana 2 — 2 
			 Ivory Coast 33 1 34 
			 Central African Republic 8 1 9 
			 Congo 113 7 120 
			 Cameroon, United Republic 45 4 49 
			 Cape Verde 2 — 2 
			 Algeria 210 1 211 
			 Egypt 14 1 15 
			 Ethiopia 65 4 69 
			 Ghana 179 31 210 
			 Gambia 40 1 41 
			 Guinea 13 — 13 
			 Equatorial Guinea 1 — 1 
			 Guinea/Bissau 1 — 1 
			 Kenya 56 4 60 
			 Liberia 24 4 28 
			 Libya 25 — 25 
			 Morocco 49 1 50 
			 Mali 1 — 1 
			 Mauritania 3 — 3 
			 Mauritius 22 1 23 
			 Malawi 13 1 14 
			 Mozambique 3 — 3 
			 Namibia 2 1 3 
			 Niger 5 — 5 
			 Nigeria 874 193 1,067 
			 Rwanda 15 3 18 
			 Seychelles 3 — 3 
			 Sudan 55 1 56 
			 St. Helena — 1 1 
			 Sierre Leone 84 7 91 
			 Senegal 9 — 9 
			 Somalia 309 12 321 
			 Chad 2 — 2 
			 Togo 9 4 13 
			 Tunisia 18 — 18 
			 Tanzania 15 1 16 
			 Uganda 85 6 91 
			 Western Sahara 1 — 1 
			 South Africa 143 35 178 
			 Zambia 15 1 16 
			 Congo, Democratic Republic 35 1 36 
			 Zimbabwe 139 24 164 
			 
			  Total Asia 1,643 95 1,739 
			 Bangladesh 168 1 169 
			 Burma 2 — 2 
			 China 232 24 256 
			 Hong Kong 6 — 6 
			 Indonesia 4 — 4 
			 India 269 7 276 
			 British India Ocean Territories 1 — 1 
			 Cambodia 1 — 1 
			 Korea Republic of (Sth) 4 — 4 
			 Sri Lanka 157 4 161 
			 Mongolia 8 — 8 
			 Maldives 1 — 1 
			 Malaysia 23 1 24 
			 Nepal 1 — 1 
			 Philippines 12 12 24 
			 Pakistan 447 8 455 
			 Singapore 4 — 4 
			 Thailand 2 7 9 
			 East Timor (Portuguese) 1 — 1 
			 Vietnam 300 33 332 
			 
			  Total central and South America 324 46 371 
			 Argentina 2 1 3 
			 Bolivia 5 1 6 
			 Brazil 59 14 73 
			 Belize 2 — 2 
			 Chile 14 1 15 
			 Columbia 112 9 121 
			 Costa Rica 3 — 3 
			 Ecuador 18 — 18 
			 French Guyana 4 — 4 
			 Guatemala 5 — 5 
			 Guyana 33 8 41 
			 Honduras 1 — 1 
			 Mexico 15 2 17 
			 Panama 2 1 3 
			 Peru 5 — 5 
			 Paraguay 1 — 1 
			 Surinam 6 1 7 
			 El Salvador 1 1 2 
			 Uruguay 3 — 3 
			 Venezuela 33 8 41 
			 
			  Total Europe 2,966 223 3,189 
			 Albania 148 1 149 
			 Armenia 3 — 3 
			 Austria 9 3 12 
			 Azerbijan 4 — 4 
			 Bosnia-Hercegovina 6 3 9 
			 Belgium 34 5 39 
			 Bulgaria 9 — 9 
			 Croatia 9 1 10 
			 Switzerland 4 — 4 
			 Czech Republic 35 2 37 
			 Cyprus 58 2 60 
			 Germany 123 16 139 
			 Denmark 8 2 10 
			 Estonia 15 2 17 
			 Spain 68 11 79 
			 Finland 2 — 2 
			 France 157 13 170 
			 Georgia 14 1 15 
			 Gibraltar 3 — 3 
			 Greece 14 4 18 
			 Hungary 21 2 22 
			 Irish Republic 640 42 682 
			 Italy 105 9 113 
			 Kazakhstan 3 — 3 
			 Kyrgystan 5 — 5 
			 Lithuania 176 18 194 
			 Latvia 46 1 47 
			 Moldova 44 2 46 
			 Macedonia 4 1 5 
			 Serbia and Montenegro 106 1 107 
			 Malta 7 — 7 
			 Netherlands 125 29 154 
			 Norway 5 — 5 
			 Poland 265 13 278 
			 Portugal 173 7 180 
			 Romania 105 11 116 
			 Sweden 12 6 18 
			 Slovakia 20 2 22 
			 Slovenia 6 1 7 
			 Russia 104 13 117 
			 Turkey 265 1 266 
			 Uzbekistan 3 — 3 
			 
			  Total Middle East 706 4 710 
			 United Arab Emirates 9 — 9 
			 Afghanistan 108 — 108 
			 Bahrain 2 — 2 
			 Iran 209 2 211 
			 Israel 27 — 27 
			 Iraq 280 — 280 
			 Jordan 12 — 12 
			 Kuwait 13 — 13 
			 Lebanon 22 1 23 
			 Oman 1 — 1 
			 Saudi Arabia 9 1 10 
			 Syrian Arab Republic 6 — 6 
			 Yemen, Republic of 7 — 7 
			 
			  Total North America 104 21 125 
			 Canada 19 6 26 
			 United States of America 84 15 99 
			 
			  Total Oceania 39 6 45 
			 Australia 20 4 24 
			 Fiji 10 — 10 
			 French Southern Territories 1 — 1 
			 Johnston Island 1 — 1 
			 Kiribati 1 — 1 
			 New Zealand 4 2 6 
			 Papua New Guinea 1 — 1 
			 
			  Total other 10 — 10 
			 
			  Total unrecorded 800 95 894 
			 
			  West Indies 1,647 162 1,809 
			 Aruba 1 — 1 
			 Anguilla 1 — 1 
			 Netherlands Antilles 22 6 28 
			 Barbados 29 2 31 
			 Bermuda 6 1 7 
			 Bahamas 5 — 5 
			 Cuba 1 — 1 
			 Dominica 7 — 7 
			 Dominican Republic 7 3 10 
			 Grenada 21 4 25 
			 Haiti 2 — 2 
			 Jamaica 1,414 110 1,524 
			 St. Lucia 25 6 31 
			 Montserrat 14 — 14 
			 St. Christopher and Nevis 1 — 1 
			 St. Kitts and Nevis 3 — 3 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 75 26 101 
			 St. Vincent and The Grenadines 13 4 17 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Prison population( 1)  within England and Wales at 31 December 2006 by nationality and offence group 
			   Foreign national prisoners  Not recorded  UK national  Total 
			 Offence group 7,407 153 56,268 63,828 
			 Violence against the person 1,326 39 15,507 16,872 
			 Sexual offences 752 14 6,228 6,994 
			 Robbery 597 10 7,915 8,522 
			 Burglary 246 16 7,678 7,940 
			 Theft and handling 262 9 3,258 3,529 
			 Fraud and forgery 883 18 838 1,739 
			 Drug offences 2,621 25 8,034 10,680 
			 Motoring offences 121 8 1,389 1,518 
			 Other offences 574 13 5,102 5,690 
			 Offence not recorded 24 2 319 345 
			 (1 )Prison population under immediate custodial sentence shown

Sexual Offences

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated into the effects of incidence of sexual violence or abuse committed against offenders whether as adults or as children in the context of repeat offending or crimes of violence.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Home Office has not commissioned or evaluated research into the effects of incidence of sexual violence of abuse committed against offenders whether as adults or children in the context of repeat offending or crimes of violence.
	Links between the experience of sexual abuse and subsequent offending behaviour, i.e. the victim-offender cycle, are complex and a history of sexual abuse is generally associated with a range of adverse childhood experiences which are difficult to disentangle (Falshaw, 2005; Grubin, 1998 Falshaw, L. (2005).
	The link between a history of maltreatment and subsequent offending behaviour. Probation Journal, 52(4), 423-434. Grubin, D. (1998). Sex offending against children: Understanding the risk. Police Research Series. Paper 99. London: Home Office.

Yarl's Wood Detention Centre: Health Services

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will reimburse to Bedford Primary Care Trust the costs of treating detainees at the Yarls Wood asylum detention centre; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 12 March 2007
	Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) have an existing obligation for commissioning secondary and tertiary healthcare services for detainees who reside in removal centres within their geographical area. Like other immigration removal centres, Yarl's Wood has primary healthcare provision on site that is funded through the contract with the centre operator. Detainees receive any necessary secondary healthcare services from the NHS. NHS services are, however, only used in situations where detainees cannot be treated through the on-site primary care provision and are referred to secondary services or in an emergency situation.

Young Offenders: Drugs

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders were screened positively for substance misuse in each year since 2002; how many accessed early intervention and treatment services in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Data on the number of young people identified as requiring substance misuse assessment and accessing early intervention and treatment services is collected by the Youth Justice Board from youth offending teams and are set out in the tables.
	The Youth Justice Board did not collect this data prior to 2004. The 2004-05 data was collected on young people accessing treatment within 10 days. In 2005-06 data was also collected on those receiving services within 20 days.
	Young people receiving services later than these timescales were not reported to the Youth Justice Board.
	These are not Home Office statistics and although care is taken in collating and analysing the returns used to compile the figures, the data are of necessity subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system.
	
		
			  Number of young people YOTs reported as requiring substance misuse assessment 
			   Number 
			 2004-05 17,524 
			 2005-06 15,414 
		
	
	
		
			  Numbers of young people YOTs report accessing early intervention and treatment services 
			Number 
			 2004-05 (within 10 days)  10,645 
			  Tier 2 7,672 
			  Tier 3 2,826 
			  Tier 4 147 
			
			 2005-05 (within 20 days)  12,874 
			  Tier 2 8,786 
			  Tier 3 3,972 
			  Tier 4 116 
			  Note:  Tiers 2, 3 and 4 refer to levels of service required for substance misuse issues of low, medium or high severity

Average Earnings

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the pay gap between  (a) women working full-time,  (b) women working part-time,  (c) women with dependent children,  (d) ethnic minorities,  (f) workers aged 50 years or over,  (g) workers with disabilities and  (h) those with the lowest qualifications and the hourly median earnings for men in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 14 March 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question regarding the pay gap between (a) women working full-time, (b) women working part-time, (c) women with dependent children, (d) ethnic minorities, (f) workers aged 50 years or over, (g) workers with disabilities and (h) those with the lowest qualifications and the hourly median earnings for men in each year since 1997. (126513)
	Average levels of earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. This is the standard definition used for ASHE. The ASHE does not collect information on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
	Analyses for women with dependent children, ethnic minorities, workers with disabilities, and by qualification are not available from ASHE. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) does collect this information, but in the form requested it is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
	The attached table shows median gross hourly earnings excluding overtime and the pay gap, for full-time females, part-time females and all employees aged over 50, compared to the median gross hourly earnings excluding overtime for full-time men.
	The ASHE, carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It is a one per cent sample of all employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes.
	
		
			  Gender pay gap, United Kingdom 
			   Median gross hourly earnings excluding overtime( a) 
			   Full-time male  Full-time female  Part-time female  Employees aged 50+ 
			   £  £  Pay gap( b)  £  Pay gap( b)  £  Pay gap( b) 
			 1997 8.40 6.94 17.4 4.75 43.5 6.71 20.2 
			 1998 8.74 7.22 17.4 4.90 43.9 7.02 19.7 
			 1999 9.07 7.58 16.4 5.10 43.8 7.30 19.5 
			 2000 9.35 7.83 16.3 5.26 43.7 7.47 20.1 
			 2001 9.84 8.23 16.4 5.50 44.1 7.83 20.4 
			 2002 10.26 8.67 15.5 5.72 44.2 8.11 20.9 
			 2003 10.58 9.04 14.6 6.08 42.5 8.51 19.6 
			 2004 excluding 11.09 9.53 14.1 6.35 42.7 8.89 19.8 
			 2004 including(c) 10.96 9.37 14.5 6.32 42.3 8.87 19.1 
			 2005 11.29 9.82 13.0 6.72 40.5 9.39 16.8 
			 2006 11.71 10.24 12.6 7.00 40.2 9.84 16.0 
			  Notes: (a) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence. (b) The percentage difference between the relevant hourly pay, and that of full-time males. (c) In 2004, additional supplementary surveys were introduced to improve the coverage of the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Figures are presented both excluding and including the additional surveys for comparison purposes.  Guide to quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value, the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an average of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent., we would expect the population average to be within the range 180 to 220. All of the figures on this table have a CV of less than 5 per cent. The median is the value below which 50 per cent. of employees fall. It is preferred over the mean for earnings data as it is influenced less by extreme values and because of the skewed distribution of earnings data.  Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics.

Departments: Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any members of the Council of Economic Advisers were involved in the formulation of his announcement on Citizenship and Immigration of27 February 2007.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answerI gave him on 13 March 2007,  Official Report,column 280W.

Disposable Income

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much and what proportion of disposable income was paid on average in  (a) direct taxes,  (b) indirect taxes by (i) working age households with dependent children, (ii) working age households without dependent children and (iii) pensioner households in each of the last three years, broken down by income decile.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 14 March 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how much and what proportion of disposable income was paid on average in (a) direct taxes, (b) indirect taxes by (i) working age households with dependent children, (ii) working age households without dependent children and (iii) pensioner households, broken down by income decile in each of the last three years. (126508)
	Estimates of the proportion of income paid in both direct and indirect taxes appear in the ONS analysis 'The effects of taxes and benefits on household income'. The latest analysis for 2004/05 was published on the National Statistics website on 12th May 2006 at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/taxesbenefits. The analysis is based on data from the Expenditure and Food Survey (EPS), which is a sample survey covering approximately 7,000 households in the UK. The analysis for 2005/06 will be published on the National Statistics website on 17 May 2007.
	The tables below show the amount of direct and indirect taxes paid by each of the three different types of household. They also show the average payment of direct and indirect taxes as a proportion of income. However, since disposable income is that received after the payment of direct taxes, the proportion of disposable income paid in direct taxes is zero by definition. So only indirect taxes are shown as a proportion of disposable income. To enable a comparison, both direct and indirect taxes have been shown as a proportion of gross income.
	Figures have been provided for the last three years, and they have been taken from (or calculated from) figures appearing in the three most recent 'effects of taxes and benefits' articles, those for 2002/03, 2003/04, and 2004/05. The figures for non-retired households with children have been taken from Table 21, the figures for non-retired households without children from Table 20, and the figures for retired households from Table 18. Retired households are those where the income of retired household members accounts for more than half of the household gross income.
	Direct taxes include income tax, national insurance contributions and council tax. The indirect taxes include VAT, duties, intermediate taxes (see background notes), and a number of smaller items such as television licences.
	When comparing estimates over these three years, it should be remembered that the estimates are based on a sample, and that there is some uncertainty around the estimates. While there will have been some changes in the taxes paid by households over this period, the underlying changes are difficult to distinguish from the movements arising from sampling error, especially in the figures for decile groups. Given this, these figures are best interpreted as indicating the average level of tax payments over this three year period, rather than interpreting them as measuring how the tax burden has changed over these three years.
	There was a change to the way that tax credits were treated from 2003/04 onwards. Up until 2002/03 tax credits were treated as cash benefits. From 2003/04, they are classified as negative income tax, but only to the extent that income tax less tax credits, remains greater than or equal to zero for each family. So for households paying relatively little or no income tax, tax credit payments were still regarded either partially or wholly, as cash benefits. Based on figures for 2003/04, the effect of this change was to reduce the overall estimate of direct taxes as a proportion of gross income for all households, by 0.3%.
	Indirect taxes, when expressed as a proportion of either gross or disposable income appears particularly high for the bottom income decile, although this result needs to be interpreted carefully. Estimates of indirect taxes are estimated based on household expenditure. It should be remembered that measured expenditure will not necessarily balance with measured income for the year. This is especially true for the bottom income decile where average measured income is significantly lower than average expenditure. For these households, indirect taxes (which reflect expenditure) are not being met solely from current income, and so indirect taxes are very high when expressed as a proportion of either gross or disposable income.
	There are a number of plausible reasons why for some households, expenditure might exceed income. Households with low incomes may draw on their savings or borrow in order to finance their expenditure. In addition, the lower decile in particular includes some groups, who have, or report, very little income (for example, self-employed people starting a business or someone who has just been made redundant). In these cases, expenditure is not being met from current income. Some types of receipts are not included as income in the EFS e.g. inheritance and severance payments. In some cases, the information given on expenditure is not consistent with that on income received because of timing differences.
	
		
			  Table 1: Direct and indirect taxes paid by non-retired households with children by decile group, 2002-03 to 2004-05 
			   Decile groups of all non-retired households with children ranked by equivalised disposable income  
			   Bottom  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9th  Top  All households 
			  Average per household (£ per year)
			  Direct taxes
			 2002-03 826 1,426 2,038 3,398 4,629 5,840 7,588 9,728 12,456 23,632 7,156 
			 2003-04 787 1,410 2,514 3,644 5,002 6,421 7,977 9,798 13,265 25,471 7,629 
			 2004-05 910 1,517 2,908 3,876 5,197 6,492 8,271 10,088 14,220 27,420 8,090 
			 
			  Indirect taxes
			 2002-03 3,565 3,638 3,808 4,449 4,906 5,107 6,114 6,643 7,205 9,492 5,493 
			 2003-04 3,301 3,755 4,518 4,948 5,662 6,089 5,963 6,942 7,423 9,538 5,814 
			 2004-05 3,781 3,987 4,316 5,078 5,571 5,872 6,717 6,756 7,631 9,856 5,957 
			 
			  Percentages of gross income
			  Direct taxes
			 2002-03 8 9 11 15 17 19 20 21 22 25 20 
			 2003-04 7 9 12 14 17 19 21 22 24 25 20 
			 2004-05 7 9 13 15 17 19 20 21 23 26 20 
			 
			  Indirect taxes
			 2002-03 32 24 21 20 18 16 16 15 13 10 15 
			 2003-04 31 24 22 19 19 18 15 16 13 9 15 
			 2004-05 31 23 20 19 19 17 16 14 13 9 15 
			 
			  Percentages of disposable income
			  Indirect taxes
			 2002-03 35 27 24 23 22 20 20 18 17 14 19 
			 2003-04 34 26 25 23 23 22 19 20 17 12 19 
			 2004-05 34 25 23 23 22 21 21 18 16 13 19 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Direct and indirect taxes paid by non-retired households without children by decile group, 2002-03 to 2004-05 
			   Decile groups of all non-retired disposable income households without children ranked by equivalised disposable income  
			   Bottom  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9th  Top  All households 
			  Average per household (£ per year)
			  Direct taxes
			 2002-03 660 1,698 3,204 4,453 5,326 6,976 7,999 9,842 11,732 19,880 7,177 
			 2003-04 981 1,587 3,129 4,499 5,662 7,373 8,750 10,168 12,261 22,865 7,728 
			 2004-05 1,055 2,292 3,986 5,115 6,286 8,008 9,391 10,951 13,576 22,907 8,357 
			 
			  Indirect taxes
			 2002-03 3,010 3,069 3,796 4,411 4,734 5,240 5,358 5,879 6,841 7,472 4,981 
			 2003-04 2,775 3,230 3,695 4,263 4,673 5,185 5,392 5,908 6,051 7,872 4,904 
			 2004-05 3,010 3,740 4,229 4,421 5,097 5,577 5,502 5,974 6,474 8,211 5,223 
			 
			  Percentages of gross income
			  Direct taxes
			 2002-03 11 13 17 19 19 21 22 22 23 25 21 
			 2003-04 14 12 17 19 21 22 23 24 25 26 23 
			 2004-05 12 15 18 20 21 22- 23 24 25 25 23 
			 
			  Indirect taxes
			 2002-03 48 23 20 19 17 16 15 13 13 9 15 
			 2003-04 40 25 20 18 17 16 14 14 12 9 14 
			 2004-05 35 24 19 17 17 16 14 13 12 9 14 
			 
			  Percentages of disposable income
			  Indirect taxes
			 2002-03 54 26 24 23 21 20 19 17 17 12 19 
			 2003-04 47 29 25 22 22 20 18 18 16 12 19 
			 2004-05 40 29 24 22 21 20 18 17 16 12 18 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Direct and indirect taxes paid by retired households by decile group, 2002-03 to 2004-05 
			   Decile groups of all retired households ranked by equivalised disposable income  
			   Bottom  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9th  Top  All households 
			  Average per household (£ per year)
			  Direct taxes
			 2002-03 632 701 754 617 810 1,021 1,358 1,848 2,650 6,655 1,705 
			 2003-04 712 687 867 873 770 1,231 1,628 2,181 2,856 6,687 1,849 
			 2004-05 901 726 903 908 825 1,202 1,473 2,062 2,894 6,128 1,802 
			 
			  Indirect taxes
			 2002-03 1,761 1,832 2,021 1,856 2,190 2,129 2,557 2,981 3,119 4,360 2,481 
			 2003-04 1,830 1,601 2,291 2,008 2,051 2,570 2,745 3,228 2,973 4,812 2,611 
			 2004-05 1,908 1,958 2,167 2,147 1,930 2,517 2,552 2,692 3,362 4,770 2,600 
			 
			  Percentages of gross income
			  Direct taxes
			 2002-03 10 8 8 6 7 8 9 11 13 18 12 
			 2003-04 11 8 9 8 7 9 10 12 14 19 12 
			 2004-05 14 9 9 8 7 9 10 11 13 17 12 
			 
			  Indirect taxes
			 2002-03 29 21 21 18 20 17 18 18 15 . 12 17 
			 2003-04 29 20 23 19 18 19 18 18 14 13 17 
			 2004-05 29 23 21 19 17 19 17 15 16 13 17 
			 
			  Percentages of disposable income
			  Indirect taxes
			 2002-03 33 23 22 19 22 18 20 20 17 14 19 
			 2003-04 32 21 25 20 20 21 20 20 17 17 20 
			 2004-05 34 25 24 20 18 21 19 17 18 16 19

Environment Protection

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer further to his announcement of 25 September 2006, when his Department expects to bring forward proposals on environmental technologies.

John Healey: The Commission on Environmental Markets and Economic Performance was announced by the Government in November 2006, and will report before the summer on how the UK can make themost of the opportunities provided by growing environmental markets.

Population: Health Authorities

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what proportion of each strategic health authority's resident population is aged  (a) over state pension age,  (b) 65 or over,  (c) 75 or over,  (d) 85 or over,  (e) 95 or over and  (f) 100 or over;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the population size of each strategic health authority in  (a) 2010,  (b) 2020 and  (c) 2030; how many and what proportion of the projected population he estimates will be aged (i) over state pension age, (ii) 65 or over, (iii) 75 or over, (iv) 85 or over, (v) 95 or over and (vi) 100 or over in each year.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 14 March 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary questions about asking (1) the current proportion of each strategic health authority's resident population; and (2) the projected population size, and proportion of the population, of each strategic health authority in 2010, 2020 and 2030, aged (a) over state pension age (b) 65 or over, (c) 75 or over, (d) 85 or over, (e) 95 or over, (f) 100 or over. (126551 and 126609)
	Table 1 shows the proportion of each strategic health authority's resident population aged over state pension age, 65 or over, 75 or over, 85 or over and 90 or over. These data are calculated from the estimates of the population at mid-2005 and are the latest available. They are not available for the age groups 95 or over and 100 or over.
	Tables 2a, 2b and 2c show the projected population size of each strategic health authority, as well as. the projected population size and the projected proportion of the population that are aged over state pension age, 65 or over, 75 or over and85 or over, for the years 2010, 2020 and 2029 respectively. These data are from the sub-national population projections based on the mid-2004 population estimates. These projections only run for 25 years and are therefore only available to 2029. They are not available for the age groups 95 or over and 100 or over.
	All data are shown for the strategic health authorities on the 2006 boundaries.
	
		
			  Table 1: Proportion of 2005 mid-year estimate population by strategic health authority( 1)  for specific age groups 
			  Percentage 
			  SHA  over state pension age  65+  75+  85+  90+ 
			 North East SHA 19.5 16.8 7.7 1.8 0.6 
			 North West SHA 18.8 16.1 7.5 1.9 0.7 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber SHA 18.9 16.2 7.7 1.9 0.7 
			 East Midlands SHA 19.1 16.3 7.8 1.9 0.7 
			 West Midlands SHA 19.0 16.2 7.7 1.9 0.7 
			 East SHA 19.6 16.8 8.1 2.1 0.8 
			 London SHA 13.8 11.8 5.7 1.5 0.6 
			 South East Coast SHA 20.7 17.9 9.0 2.5 0.9 
			 South Central SHA 17.7 15.1 7.3 1.9 0.7 
			 South West SHA 21.8 18.8 9.4 2.5 0.9 
			 (1 )Strategic health authorities based on 2006 boundaries.  Source: Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2a: Projected population and proportions of population in 2010 by strategic health authority( 1)  for specific age groups 
			  2010 
			   Total population  Over state pension age  65+  75+  85+ 
			   Thousand  Thousand  Percentage  Thousand  Percentage  Thousand  Percentage  Thousand  Percentage 
			 North East SHA 2,566 532 20.8 448 17.5 210 8.2 55 2.1 
			 North West SHA 6,945 1,387 20.0 1,165 16.8 538 7.7 145 2.1 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber SHA 5,217 1,037 19.9 873 16.7 409 7.8 114 2.2 
			 East Midlands SHA 4,433 920 20.8 773 17.4 358 8.1 100 2.3 
			 West Midlands SHA 5,436 1,105 20.3 936 17.2 435 8.0 121 2.2 
			 East SHA 5,698 1,207 21.2 1,017 17.8 487 8.5 140 2.4 
			 London SHA 7,818 1,057 13.5 883 11.3 426 5.4 123 1.6 
			 South East Coast SHA 4,333 947 21.9 802 18.5 396 9.1 120 2.8 
			 South Central SHA 4,025 770 19.1 648 16.1 311 7.7 91 2.3 
			 South West SHA 5,242 1,227 23.4 1,040 19.8 506 9.7 152 2.9 
			 (1 )Strategic health authorities based on 2006 boundaries.  Source:  Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2b: Projected population and proportions of population in 2020 by strategic health authority( 1)  for specific age groups 
			  2020 
			   Total population  Over state pension age  65+  75+  85+ 
			   Thousand  Thousand  Percentage  Thousand  Percentage  Thousand  Percentage  Thousand  Percentage 
			 North East SHA 2,607 627 24.0 540 20.7 249 9.5 72 2.8 
			 North West SHA 7,163 1,620 22.6 1,402 19.6 653 9.1 183 2.6 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber SHA 5,507 1,232 22.4 1,067 19.4 500 9.1 145 2.6 
			 East Midlands SHA 4,679 1,127 24.1 982 21.0 461 9.9 132 2.8 
			 West Midlands SHA 5,612 1,283 22.9 1,120 20.0 540 9.6 156 2.8 
			 East SHA 6,034 1,460 24.2 1,278 21.2 615 10.2 185 3.1 
			 London SHA 8,386 1,172 14.0 989 11.8 462 5.5 142 1.7 
			 South East Coast SHA 4,587 1,113 24.3 974 21.2 477 10.4 149 3.3 
			 South Central SHA 4,192 917 21.9 799 19.1 387 9.2 119 2.8 
			 South West SHA 5,577 1,487 26.7 1,303 23.4 634 11.4 193 3.5 
			 (1 )Strategic health authorities based on 2006 boundaries.  Source:  Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2c: Projected population and proportions of population in 2029 by strategic health authority( 1)  for specific age groups 
			  2029 
			   Total population  Over state pension age  65+  75+  85+ 
			   Thousand  Thousand  Percentage  Thousand  Percentage  Thousand  Percentage  Thousand  Percentage 
			 North East SHA 2,638 725 27.5 632 24.0 315 11.9 93 3.5 
			 North West SHA 7,331 1,881 25.7 1,632 22.3 822 11.2 246 3.4 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber SHA 5,738 1,450 25.3 1,261 22.0 638 11.1 194 3.4 
			 East Midlands SHA 4,874 1,347 27.6 1,174 24.1 605 12.4 185 3.8 
			 West Midlands SHA 5,749 1 ,478 25.7 1,288 22.4 670 11.7 212 3.7 
			 East SHA 6,308 1,732 27.5 1,517 24.0 799 12.7 253 4.0 
			 London SHA 8,807 1,386 15.7 1,167 13.2 549 6.2 171 1.9 
			 South East Coast SHA 4,814 1,315 27.3 1,149 23.9 605 12.6 196 4.1 
			 South Central SHA 4,336 1,073 24.8 939 21.6 494 11.4 160 3.7 
			 South West SHA 5,862 1,766 30.1 1,548 26.4 824 14.0 264 4.5 
			 (1 )Strategic health authorities based on 2006 boundaries.  Source:  Office for National Statistics

Statistics: Constituencies

Andrew Slaughter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has issued guidance to other Government departments on the production of statistics for new parliamentary constituencies.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 14 March 2007:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to any guidance has been issued to other government departments on the production of statistics for new parliamentary constituencies. (126442)
	Firstly please can I refer you to the answer that Colin Mowl gave on my behalf to a closely related question from Roger Godsiff MP (119197) last month (Hansard ref: 19 February 2007, column 233W).
	Furthermore there is a draft National Statistics Geography Policy that wherever possible stable geographies should be used as the building blocks for National Statistics. Wherever possible 'exact' outputs should be produced and published first forthese core geographies. Outputs for other areas, including parliamentary constituencies, will continue to be released as long as they are required. These will be created either from the source data or via best fitting or estimation from the core units. Hence in principle it should be possible to provide the range of statistics that are currently available for existing parliamentary constituencies.
	A boundary commission report detailing the proposed new parliamentary constituencies was laid before parliament on 26 February 2007. There has not yet been a date set for the debates in the House of Commons and House of Lords to discuss and vote on these proposals.
	When we know the details of the new constituencies the ONS and other government departments will start producing data for them as resources and work programmes allow.

Tobacco: Smuggling

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of lost revenue to his Department due to tobacco smuggling from other EU states.

John Healey: It is not possible to estimate the level of tobacco smuggling solely from other EU states. Estimates are only produced on the revenue loss from smuggling originating from within and outside of the EU combined.
	The estimated revenue loss to the Exchequer (duty plus VAT) on cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco due to fraud, smuggling and counterfeiting for 2000-01 to 2004-05 are reported in "Measuring Indirect Tax Losses—2006" published by HMRC in December 2006 and is available in the House of Commons Library.

Cancer: Drugs

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will ask the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to undertake an appraisal of the kidney cancer drugs  (a) Sutent and  (b) Nexavar; what responsibilities primary care trusts have to make these drugs available to patients; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 5 March 2007
	The Department has asked the National Institute for Health Clinical Excellence (NICE) to consult on the remit and scope for an appraisal of Nexavar for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma. A final decision on referral of this topic to NICE will be made in April 2007. The Department is currently considering referring Sutent to NICE for appraisal.
	In December 2006, the Department issued good practice guidance to the national health service on the managed introduction of new technologies. The guidance updates and clarifies the messages in an earlier Health Service Circular 1999/176 and makes clear to NHS organisations that they should not refuse to fund a treatment simply because NICE guidance does not yet exist. Until NICE has issued final guidance on a treatment, NHS bodies should continue with local arrangements for the managed introduction of new technologies, taking account of the available evidence.

Cancer: Medical Treatments

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the financial impact on the NHS of positive National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) appraisals for medicines for  (a) lung cancer,  (b) breast cancer,  (c) prostate cancer,  (d) bowel cancer and  (e) less common cancers in each year since NICE was established.

Caroline Flint: Each technology appraisal published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) contains an estimate of the cost to the national health service of its implementation. The table sets out NICE's published cost impact estimates for appraisals in the relevant topic areas, up to February 2007.
	
		
			  Technology appraisal  Date of issue  NICE estimates of full-year costs—England (£ million) 
			  Breast cancer   
			 Taxanes for breast cancer June 2000 16 
			 Taxanes for breast cancer—review September 2001 (1)0 
			 Tratuzumab for breast cancer March 2002 17 
			 Vinorelbine for breast cancer December 2002 6.5 
			 Capecitabine for locally advanced breast cancer May 2003 -1.2 
			 Trastuzumab for the adjuvant treatment of early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer August 2006 99.8 
			 Docetaxel for early breast cancer September 2006 8.8 
			 Paclitaxel for early breast cancer September 2006 (1)0 
			 Hormonal treatments for early breast cancer November 2006 17.4 
			 Gemcitabine for metastatic breast cancer January 2007 0.08 
			
			  Prostate cancer   
			 Docetaxel for hormone refractory prostate cancer June 2006 19.9 
			
			  Bowel cancer   
			 Laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer January 2001 (1)0 
			 Capecitabine and tegafur with uracil for metastatic colorectal cancer May 2003 -16 
			 Capecitabine and oxaliplatin in the adjuvant treatment of stage III (Dukes' C) colon cancer April 2006 10.3 
			 Irinotecan, oxaliplatin and raltitrexed for advanced colorectal cancer—review August 2005 56 
			 Laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer August 2006 0.8 
			 Bevacizumab and cetuximab for metastatic colorectal cancer January 2007 (1)0 
			
			  Less common cancers   
			 Taxanes for ovarian cancer May 2000 7 
			 Liquid Based Cytology for cervical screening June 2000 (1)0 
			 Temozolomide for brain cancer April 2001 1 
			 Gemcitabine for pancreatic cancer May 2001 1.9 
			 Topetecan for advanced ovarian cancer August 2001 7 
			 Fludarabine for B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia September 2001 (1)0 
			 Rituximab for follicular non Hodgkin's lymphoma March 2002 (1)0 
			 PLDH (Caelyx) for ovarian cancer July 2002 3.1 
			 Imatinib for chronic myeloid leukaemia. October 2002 15.8 
			 Paclitaxel for ovarian cancer January 2003 (1)0 
			 Rituximab for aggressive non Hodgkin's lymphoma September 2003 13.15 
			 Liquid-based cytology for cervical screening—review October 2003 10.1-10.3 
			 Imatanib for chronic myeloid leukaemia October 2003 5 
			 Imatinib for gastro-intestinal stromal tumours (GIST) October 2004 4.7 
			 Paclitaxel, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin hydrochloride and topotecan for ovarian cancer (advanced)—review May 2005 2.25 
			 Rituximab for follicular lymphoma September 2006 3.4 
			 Fludarabine monotherapy for the first-line treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia February 2007 (1)0 
			 (1) Not considered to have significant cost implications.

Cancer: Northern Region

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding  (a) Cumbria primary care trust and  (b) each other primary care trust in the North of England has been allocated for cancer treatment in 2006-07.

Rosie Winterton: We do not hold information centrally on levels of local funding allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs) for cancer treatment, however around £3.4 billion was spent on cancer services in 2003-04 and this increased by 12 per cent. each year to around £3.8 billion in 2004-05, and£4.3 billion in 2005-06.
	National health service funding is allocated to PCTs to meet the health needs of their local population, who in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders, determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for cancer services.
	The following table shows the allocations to PCTs in the north of England for 2006-07.
	
		
			  Primary care trust  Revenue allocation 2006-07 (£ million) 
			 Cumbria 632.5 
			 North Lancashire 418.8 
			 Blackpool 213.8 
			 Central Lancashire 556.4 
			 East Lancashire 506.2 
			 Blackburn with Darwen Teaching 207.7 
			 Sefton 389.7 
			 Wirral 459.5 
			 Liverpool 733.2 
			 Knowsley 243.4 
			 Halton and St. Helens 434.7 
			 Warrington 237.1 
			 Western Cheshire 303.8 
			 Central and Eastern Cheshire 522.8 
			 Ashton, Leigh and Wigan 410.7 
			 Bolton 355.3 
			 Bury 226.7 
			 Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale 288.7 
			 Salford Teaching 346.8 
			 Trafford 275.4 
			 Manchester 736.0 
			 Oldham 304.1 
			 Tameside and Glossop 308.6 
			 Stockport 349.9 
			 North Yorkshire and York 870.0 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 345.7 
			 Hull Teaching 371.3 
			 North Lincolnshire 190.4 
			 North East Lincolnshire 210.4 
			 Rotherham 330.2 
			 Doncaster 401.6 
			 Sheffield 721.8 
			 Barnsley 319.9 
			 Wakefield 444.5 
			 Kirklees 485.1 
			 Calderdale 254.6 
			 Bradford and Airedale Teaching 655.5 
			 Leeds 952.0 
			 County Durham 711.8 
			 Northumberland Care Trust 399.1 
			 Sunderland Teaching 413.3 
			 Newcastle 386.4 
			 North Tyneside 273.2 
			 Gateshead 286.7 
			 North Tees 228.1 
			 South Tyneside 223.0 
			 Middlesbrough 208.8 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 189.4 
			 Darlington 136.4 
			 Hartlepool 131.9

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women in  (a) England,  (b) each strategic health authority and  (c) each primary care trust (i) were called for and (ii) attended cervical screening in each of the last five years, broken down by age.

Rosie Winterton: The uptake of national health service Cervical Screening Programme invitations is not collected nationally and comparing the number of women invited with the number of women screened would not give an accurate account of uptake of invitations, as the figures for the number of women screened also include self and general practitioner referral (for example, those not invited by the screening programme). Because of this we have provided five-year coverage figures, which has been placed in the Library.
	Coverage is the standard calculation used to compare primary care trusts (PCTs) and strategic health authorities (SHAs). The coverage of the screening programme is the proportion of women resident and eligible who have had a test with a recorded result at least once in the previous five years.
	2001-02 data is not available for PCTs and SHAs due to their formation in 2002. For this reason 2001-02 data is at England level.

Community Nurses: Shropshire

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) district and  (b) community nurses have been employed by Shropshire primary care trust in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: The information is not available in the format requested. The table shows qualified community nursing staff by level in the Shropshire primary care trust as at 30 September for each specified year.
	
		
			  Headcount 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 All qualified community nursing staff 511 558 605 616 
			 District Nurses 89 116 106 52 
			 Health Visitors 89 87 92 75 
			 School Nursing Service Nurses — — — 19 
			  Of which: 
			 Nurses with a school nursing qualification — — — 2 
			 Other Qualified Community Services Nurses 115 139 141 190 
			 Practice Nurses 122 114 138 135 
			 Community Learning Disabilities Nurses 11 12 12 11 
			 Community Psychiatric Nurses 85 90 116 134 
			  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care non-medical workforce census.

Dental Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what total patient charge revenue income her Department expects each primary care trust to receive in 2006-07 through the delivery of primary dental services.

Rosie Winterton: A table listing the primary dental service resource allocations for 2006-07 for all primary care trusts (PCTs) in England as at 31 July 2006 is available in the Library. This sets out the net allocations awarded to PCTs and the assumed gross budgets based on illustrative assumptions about levels of patient charge income for each PCT. Strategic health authorities agreed with their PCTs locally how these allocations would be redistributed within the new PCT areas that took effect from 1 October 2006.
	A number of factors may affect the actual levels of patient charge income in a financial year, including the annual number of units of dental activity commissioned by PCTs, the time needed for new dental services to be commissioned and come into operation, the timeliness of the reports submitted by dentists on completed courses of treatment, changes in the mix of charge-paying and charge exempt patients treated, and the incidence of certain charge-free courses of treatment for patients who would normally pay charges.

Departments: Missing Persons

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions and on what dates her Department has been represented at a meeting of the Missing Persons Strategic Oversight Group since May 2004.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 28 February 2007
	The establishment of the Missing Persons Strategic Oversight Group (SOG) was recommended by the 2005 Perry Nove Review on the Police National Missing Persons Bureau. This review proposed the establishment of a permanent oversight group drawn from statutory bodies and the voluntary sector. The SOG has met twice: firstly, on 22 March 2006 and, secondly on 6 November 2006.
	The Department and Department for Education and Skills attended the second of these meetings. The Home Office has been represented at both meetings. In addition to SOG meetings, all three Departments have ongoing bilateral contact with other stakeholders represented on the SOG.

Departments: Private Finance Initiative

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for which future projects her Department is considering a private finance initiative deal; what the estimated life time value of each potential contract is; and what period each will cover.

Andy Burnham: The following private finance initiative schemes are awaiting a formal review by the Department as part of the reappraisal process.
	
		
			  PFI scheme  Pre-review estimated capital value (£ million) 
			 Hillingdon Hospital 338 
			 Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital 144 
			 North West London Hospitals—Northwick Park 305 
			 Southend Hospital 100 
			 Taunton and Somerset 79 
			 Papworth Hospitals 148 
			 Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals—2010 500 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals 330 
			 East and North Hertfordshire 550 
			 Southampton University Hospitals 69 
			 Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals 500 
			 Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital 300 
			 Leeds Teaching Hospitals—Children's 260 
			 Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals 200 
			 United Bristol Healthcare 104 
			 Mersey Care 170 
			 Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals 317 
		
	
	As the schemes yet to be reviewed are at a very early stage in the procurement process, it is not yet possible to estimate the likely annual payment and therefore total sum payable of the lifetime of the contract. Under the national health service standard form contract (introduced in 1999) the standard contract length exclusive of build period is 30 years, although this can be varied on a case by case basis subject to the agreement of the Department.

Departments: Royal Visits

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will place in the Library copies of the  (a) agenda and  (b) minutes of the meeting on24 February 2003 between HRH the Prince of Wales and the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health;
	(2)  what the  (a) purpose and  (b) outcomes were of the meeting on 24 February 2003 between HRH the Prince of Wales and the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 9 March 2007
	A meeting was held on 24 February 2003 between HRH the Prince of Wales and the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, for Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath).

General Practitioners: Finance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the effects of devolving budget responsibilities to GPs on the quality of patient care.

Andy Burnham: General practices have been devolved indicative budgets under practice based commissioning (PBC). By December 2006, all primary care trusts had arrangements in place to support PBC, including providing indicative practice budgets. No full assessment has yet been made of the effects of PBC, but the Department has in place support to drive forward the practical implementation of PBC and a monitoring framework to assess the impact of PBC on patient care and service development.

Health Education: Carbon Monoxide

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to raise awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave my hon. Friend, the Member for Dudley, North (Mr. Austin) on 30 November 2006,  Official Report, columns 911-12W.
	The Department is committed to help prevent deaths caused by carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and raise awareness of the dangers of CO poisoning. Specific recent actions to achieve this include publications to increase awareness of medical staff and the public.
	In his January 2006 update, which is sent to all doctors registered with the General Medical Council in England, including hospital and A & E doctors, and copied to the devolved Administrations for information, the chief medical officer (CMO) provides advice to doctors on CO poisoning, which is available in the Library. CMO updates are also available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/LettersAnd Circulars/CMOUpdate/CMOUpdateArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4126235&chk=y6qnQn
	The Department has produced a public information leaflet "Indoor air pollution—Carbon monoxide". Risks to health and how to avoid them, distributed early in 2006 to all general practitioners surgeries in England, which provides information on the symptoms of CO poisoning, ways in which to prevent poisoning and the contact details of organisations and other Government Departments involved with the prevention of CO poisoning. This leaflet has been endorsed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Heating Equipment Testing and Approval Scheme, the Council for Registered Gas Installers (CORGI), the national voluntary organisation CO-Gas Safety, the Solid Fuel Association, and the national health service, and includes the CORGI emergency helpline. The leaflet, which is available in the Library, is also available free, from the Department's publication stores and on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/Publications PolicvAndGuidanceArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4123787&chk=sAoYSp
	The Department has produced a booklet "Keep Warm Keep Well, a winter guide 2006-07", which among many subjects, contains useful advice on the maintenance of heating appliances and protection from CO poisoning, which is available in the Library. This has been widely distributed and is also available from the Department's publication stores and on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/HealthAndSocialCareTopics/HealthAndSocialCareArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4076849&chk=N3IuFO
	The Department is also funding a national voluntary organisation, CO-Gas Safety, through the section 64 General Scheme of Grants, in their work in raising awareness about the dangers of carbon monoxide.
	As part of the HSE's "Review of Domestic Gas Safety", a cross-Government group, which includes officials from my Department, has been set up to consolidate the valuable work that is being done, and to help further raise awareness, particularly through encouraging greater co-ordinated industry actions.

Health Services: Detention Centres

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what allowance is made in formula funding for the treatment of detainees in asylum detention centres.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 12 March 2007
	The weighted-capitation formula, used to inform revenue allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs), does not take specific account of detainees in Immigration Service Removal Centres. However, migration is taken account of within the population base used for revenue allocations. The population base is a combination of Office for National Statistics (ONS) populations and general practitioners lists. ONS add asylum seekers to their population estimates using data provided by the Home Office. All removal centres have primary healthcare provision on site. National health service services are only used, therefore, when detainees cannot be treated within the on site Home Office funded primary care services.

Hearing Aids: Waiting Lists

Derek Conway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the waiting times for digital hearing aid  (a) assessment and  (b) fitting are in London, broken down by primary care trust.

Ivan Lewis: The following table shows data on the waiting times for audiology assessments as at end of December 2006. The Department does not collect data on fitting of aids.
	
		
			  Organisation name  Total waiting  Median waiting time (weeks) 
			 Havering PCT 3,149 42.3 
			 Kingston PCT 465 19.1 
			 Bromley PCT 171 4.9 
			 Greenwich PCT 676 33.0 
			 Barnet PCT 164 7.8 
			 Hillingdon PCT 127 5.1 
			 Enfield PCT 22 7.7 
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT 1,463 27.1 
			 City and Hackney PCT 93 7.7 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 59 13.0 
			 Newham PCT 143 5.8 
			 Haringey PCT 79 7.3 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 101 16.7 
			 Ealing PCT 465 22.7 
			 Hounslow PCT 19 16.9 
			 Brent PCT 50 7.7 
			 Harrow PCT 21 12.0 
			 Camden PCT 75 6.7 
			 Islington PCT 44 7.2 
			 Croydon PCT 1,329 25.9 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 101 16.2 
			 Westminster PCT 140 14.5 
			 Lambeth PCT 650 25.1 
			 Southwark PCT 567 29.9 
			 Lewisham PCT 241 13.0 
			 Wandsworth PCT 405 8.7 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 96 14.5 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 2,246 48.2 
			 Redbridge PCT 204 8.3 
			 Waltham Forest PCT 139 6.2 
			 Bexley Care Trust 324 14.1 
			  Source: Department, DM01

Hearing Aids: Waiting Lists

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what target her Department has set for the length of time a patient should wait for a digital hearing aid to be fitted.

Ivan Lewis: The national audiology framework "Improving Access to Audiology Services" in England, was published on 6 March 2007 and is available in the Library. It sets out clear guidance to the national health service on how to reduce waiting times and how to provide the additional 300,000 pathways that are needed in the run up to December 2008 to make a maximum wait of 18 weeks from referral to treatment possible for all audiology referrals. It aims to mitigate the risk to 18-week delivery and create a sustainable service model for audiology for the long term.
	The most complex audiology cases will be covered by the target of treatment within 18 weeks of referral by December 2008. And the remaining routine adult hearing loss cases should be assessed within six weeks by March 2008, in line with the diagnostic waiting time milestone on which local commissioning plans are based. It is also good practice for the subsequent hearing aid fitting to be carried out soon after or at the same time as assessment.

Home Births

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what targets the Government has set for home deliveries in  (a) rural and  (b) urban settings over the next five years;
	(2)  what plans she has to provide further support for those mothers who wish their babies to be delivered at home.

Ivan Lewis: We cannot set targets for home births. It is for local primary care trusts and national health service trusts to determine the appropriate pattern of service provision locally, taking into account the choice and needs of local people.
	The Government are committed to offering, by 2009, all women the choice of how and where they give birth, for example a birth at home, a birth supported by a midwife or a birth supported by a team of clinicians including a midwife and an obstetrician. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence are preparing guidelines on intrapartum care, due to be published in June 2007, which will include guidance on home births.
	We will shortly be publishing a document on the delivery of the maternity commitments made in the manifesto and in "Our Health, Our Care, Our Say", which, when published, will focus on providing continuing support and safe maternity services for all women.

Hospitals: Admissions

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts carried out public and patient consultation in accordance with Section 11 of the Health and Social Care Act prior to introducing referral management schemes.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not held centrally. The use of referral management schemes is for local determination.

Hospitals: Construction

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what major hospital building projects were approved in each of the last five years, broken down by parliamentary constituency; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The tables give details of hospital building projects with a capital value of over £58.7 million (the threshold conventionally used to denote a 'major' scheme at 2006-07 prices) which have had full business case approval or have been approved to proceed to the next stage following the private finance review.
	
		
			  Schemes which have had full business case approval 
			  Constituency( 1)  Hospital scheme  Capital value at 2006-07 prices  (£ million)  Year approved  Status 
			 Coventry North East University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust 416 2002 Operational 
			 Blackburn East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust 117 2003 Operational 
			 Brent North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 74 2003 Operational 
			 Oxford East Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust 134 2003 Operational 
			 Wolverhampton North East The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust 61 2003 Operational 
			 Basildon Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Trust 63 2003 Under construction 
			 Derby, South Derby Hospitals NHS Trust 333 2003 Under construction 
			 Oxford, East Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust 129 2003 Under construction 
			 Across Many Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust 89 2004 Operational 
			 Lewisham West Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust 75 2004 Operational 
			 Putney Wandsworth Primary Care NHS Trust 79 2004 Operational 
			 Romford Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust 254 2004 Operational 
			 Cambridge Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust 80 2004 Under construction 
			 Leeds Central Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 277 2004 Under construction 
			 Manchester Central Central Manchester and Manchester Childrens Hospitals NHS Trust 535 2004 Under construction 
			 Ashfield Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust 326 2005 Under construction 
			 Newcastle Upon Tyne East and Wallsend and Newcastle Upon Tyne Central Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust 299 2005 Under construction 
			 Portsmouth North Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust 236 2005 Under construction 
			 Bethnal Green and Bow St. Barts and the London NHS Trust 1000 2006 Under construction 
			 Birmingham, Edgbaston University Hospital Birmingham NHS Trust 627 2006 Under construction 
			 Bristol West United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust/North Bristol NHS Trust 64 2006 Under construction 
			 Holborn and St. Pancras Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust 75 2006 Under construction 
			 Kingston Upon Hull West and Wressle Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust 67 2006 Under construction 
			 St. Helens, North and St. Helens, South St. Helens Hospitals NHS Trust 338 2006 Under construction 
		
	
	
		
			  Schemes which have been given approval to proceed to the next stage following the private finance review 
			  Constituency( 1)  Hospital scheme  Capital value at 2006-07 prices  (£ million)  Year approved  Status 
			 Denton and Redditch Tameside and Glossop Acute Services NHS Trust 109 2006 Appointed preferred bidder 
			 Leicester, East University Hospital Leicester NHS Trust 711 2006 Appointed preferred bidder 
			 Newcastle-Under-Lyme University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust 272 2006 Appointed preferred bidder 
			 Salford Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust 190 2006 Appointed preferred bidder 
			 Walsall, South Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust 141 2006 Appointed preferred bidder 
			 Edmonton North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 111 2007 Appointed preferred bidder 
			 Normanton Pontefract and Castleford Mid Yorkshire NHS Hospitals NHS Trust 343 2007 Appointed preferred bidder 
			 Peterborough Peterborough Hospitals NHS Trust 282 2007 Appointed preferred bidder 
			 West Chelmsford Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust 143 2007 Appointed preferred bidder 
			 Torbay South Devon Healthcare NHS Trust 163 2006 Shortlisted bidders 
			 Colne Valley Tees and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust 78 2007 Shortlisted bidders 
			 Tunbridge Wells Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust 225 2007 Shortlisted bidders 
			 Bristol, North West Bristol North and South Gloucester Primary Care Trusts 310 2007 Pre-procurement 
			 (1 )These are the constituencies principally affected by the scheme i.e. those containing a significant element of new build or refurbishment.

Hospitals: Lancashire

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deferred operations there were at hospitals in Lancashire in each of the last five years.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Cancelled operations for non-clinical reasons, national health service organisations in Lancashire, 2002-03 to 2006-07 
			  Organisation  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07( 1) 
			 Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust 671 763 576 428 199 
			 East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust 682 657 589 469 244 
			 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 389 440 406 460 341 
			 Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust 400 388 309 462 258 
			 Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust 62 61 73 89 107 
			 (1) Data for 2006-07 are for the first three quarters only  Source: Department of Health dataset QMCO

Hospitals: Parking

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was raised from parking fees by each health authority in Lancashire in each of the last five years.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is in the table.
	The figures provided represent the gross income received from parking fees paid by staff and visitors at national health service organisations in Lancashire where information is available.
	
		
			  £ 
			  NHS organisation  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Healthcare NHS Trust (merged to form East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust in 2003-04) 297,790 276,072 — — — 
			 Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust (merged to form East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust in 2003-04) 218,800 221,500 — — — 
			 East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (established 2003-04) — — 499,572 211,000 224,289 
			 Blackpool Victoria Hospital NHS Trust (renamed Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust in 2002-03) 418,000 — — — — 
			 Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust (established 2002-03) — 418,000 518,000 540,000 566,925 
			 Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (merged to form Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in 2002-03) 395,479 — — — — 
			 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (established 2002-03) — 627,549 924,927 969,886 1,288,080 
			 Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust 205,604 233,300 394,901 426,739 495,419 
			 West Lancashire Primary Care Trust 5,952 9,000 — 17,394 19,053 
		
	
	The information is as provided by NHS organisations without amendment. Since 2004-05, it has been provided on a voluntary basis and may therefore be incomplete.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the waiting times milestones agreed with strategic health authorities referred to in the answer of 9 March 2006,  Official Report, column 1777W, on waiting lists/times, remain in place; what percentage of those waiting for  (a) out-patient appointments waiting longer than 11 weeks,  (b) diagnostic tests waited longer than 13 weeks and  (c) in-patient appointments waited longer than 20 weeks in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Andy Burnham: The data requested are shown in the table. The majority of those patients that are waiting over 13 weeks for a diagnostic test are waiting for audiology assessments, on which we published a framework for action on 6 March.
	By December 2008, patients can expect a maximum wait of 18 weeks from general practitioner referral to the start of consultant-led treatment, with most patients treated much more quickly. The referral-to-treatment (RTT) milestones are: by March 2008, 85 per cent. within 18 weeks for admitted patients (whose treatment requires a stay in hospital) and 90 per cent. for non-admitted patients {whose treatment is completed without a hospital stay).
	The framework of milestones for individual stages of treatment, agreed with strategic health authorities, remains in place and is central to the current planning round for 2007-08. Performance against the RTT milestones will take precedence over the individual stages of treatment.
	
		
			  Month end  Stage of treatment  Relevant milestone (weeks)  Total number waiting  Number waiting over milestone  Percentage waiting over milestone 
			 December 2006 Diagnostic test 13 814,360 191,385 23.5 
			 January 2007 Out-patient appointment 11 957,929 21,840 2.3 
			 January 2007 In-patient admission 20 754,992 44,622 5.9 
			  Source: Department of Health QF01, QM08 and DM01

Lung Cancer

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cancer centres in England participated in the recent National Lung Cancer Audit; and what percentage of centres this represents.

Rosie Winterton: 154 out of 200 eligible hospitals recently participated in the National Lung Cancer Audit. It covered 77 per cent. of hospitals providing lung cancer services in England.

Lung Cancer

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration she has given to  (a) mandating and  (b) building into the commissioning process a requirement on NHS trusts to submit data to the National Lung Cancer Audit.

Rosie Winterton: The National Clinical Audit Support Programme (NCASP) is commissioned by the Healthcare Commission to manage national clinical audits including the national lung cancer audit (LUCADA). The Healthcare Commission is not currently planning to make participation in audits mandatory. However, the Healthcare Commission conducts an annual health check of national health service organisations and since 2005-06 has been using participation in national clinical audits as part of the health check for NHS trusts. The Healthcare Commission is currently considering whether to include measurement not only of participation in audits, but also of data completeness and quality in its annual health check.
	The Department is currently developing a cancer reform strategy. In developing the strategy, the Department is specifically looking at how to strengthen commissioning of cancer services and how to improve the information available on clinical outcomes. Discussions are under way on improving clinical outcomes data including the use of comparative information such as that provided through the NCASP audits. We expect to publish the cancer reform strategy by the end of the year.

Maternity Services

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department has taken steps to support the midwifery model being developed by the Independent Midwives Association.

Ivan Lewis: It is for primary care trusts (PCTs) in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders to determine which models best suit the local needs of women and the midwifery work force. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the health community including the provision of maternity services.
	Ministers and officials have met with the Independent Midwives Association (IMA) over the past three years to discuss their proposal of a national health service community midwifery model. Following on from these discussions, the IMA have identified a group of midwives and PCTs who are willing to test the model and help to create an outline contract. That process is continuing.

Medical Records

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how patients will opt out of having  (a) their detailed patient record and  (b) their summary patient record uploaded to the Spine.

Caroline Flint: The spine is the colloquial name given to the national database of key information about patients' health and care which forms the core of the NHS care records service, and which, from later this year, will begin to hold summary care records. Detailed patient records are created, and can be held electronically, in a variety of national health service organisations, depending on where patients have received treatment. They are accessed locally, and will not, unlike summary records, be uploaded onto the spine.
	It will be open to individuals to choose not to have a summary care record through discussion with their general practitioner (GP). General practices will be responsible for entering care records on the system, and by the time the summary care record is introduced in local areas general practitioners will have been provided with guidance on what they need to do to respond to requests. GPs will be advised to record and act on patient preferences.
	We believe that holding summary care records on the spine will deliver very significant benefits for safety and the efficient management of NHS services, improving healthcare outcomes for millions whilst preventing thousands of unnecessary deaths. Inevitably patients whose record was not held on the spine, and who might need to be treated in the absence of knowledge of the information they contain, would not receive the same quality of care as others.

Midwives: Manpower

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the numbers of midwives needed by the NHS  (a) now and  (b) over the next five years.

Ivan Lewis: It is for local planners with support from the workforce review team to determine their future requirement for midwives to meet local service needs.
	The NHS operating framework for 2007-08, requires all national health service organisations to undertake a comprehensive review of their maternity services, including the workforce capacity, as preparation for the delivery of maternity commitments outlined in 'Our Health, our care, our say' by 2009.

Ministerial Visits

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which countries she visited on official business in 2006.

Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State visited the United States of America on official business on 1-3 November 2006. My right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Health Services covers International and European business within her portfolio, and has undertaken several official visits throughout 2006.

Motor Neurone Disease

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether she has consulted the National Institute for Clinical Excellence on the evaluation of non-invasive ventilation treatment for motor neurone disease;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on the timetable for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's investigation into non-invasive ventilation; and when she expects to publish the findings.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 26 February 2007
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) considered non-invasive ventilation as part of its interventional procedures programme but concluded that this procedure fell outside the institute's remit on interventional procedures. Decisions on the use of non-invasive ventilation in motor neurone disease are most appropriately taken by individual patients and their clinicians.

National Media Evaluations

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library copies of her Department's national media coverage evaluations in each month since January 2006.

Ivan Lewis: Since August 2005, the Department has published its media evaluation reports as part of the Department's wider commitment to Freedom of Information on its website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/FreedomOf Information/ClassesOfInformation/Communications Research/fs/en
	These reports are released every six months. Publication of the next set of national media evaluation reports covering January to June 2006 is scheduled for May and when this happens we will arrange for hard copies to be placed in the Library.

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 1086-7W, on NHS Finance, whether the full budget for commissioning specialised services transferred from her Department to the NHS will be ring-fenced.

Andy Burnham: The budget for nationally commissioned healthcare services transferring from the Department to the national health service in 2007-08 will not be ring-fenced. NHS London will host the services on the principle that they will bear no financial risk or benefit. The budget will be transferred from the Department to primary care trusts (PCTs) pro rata to weighted capitation targets and then transferred immediately on the same basis to NHS London. Any variation from budget will be managed through in-year transfers between NHS London and PCTs.

NHS Foundation Trusts

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 20 February 2007,  Official Report, columns 672-73W, on NHS foundation trusts, what proportion of residents in foundation trust catchment areas are members of foundation trusts.

Andy Burnham: Information relating to the proportion of residents who are members of foundation trusts is not held by Monitor (the statutory name of which is the Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts) or the Department.
	I am advised by the chairman of Monitor that as part of their annual plan submissions to Monitor, national health service foundation trusts are required to report on their plans for securing representative membership. The plans for the 2006-07 financial year are available on Monitor's website at www.monitor-nhsft.gov.uk
	As part of their 2007-08 annual plan submissions to Monitor, NHS foundation trusts will be required to include a more in-depth report on their membership, including an analysis of current membership of the public constituency and a comparison with eligible membership by age, ethnicity and socio-economic groupings. The 2007-08 annual plans are due to be considered by Monitor's Board in July 2007, following which they will be published on Monitor's website.

NHS Foundation Trusts

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS hospital trusts are applying for foundation trust status.

Andy Burnham: The Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 provides that an national health service trust may make an application to Monitor (the statutory name of which is the independent regulator of NHS foundation trusts) for consideration for authorisation as an NHS foundation trust (NHSFT), if the application is supported by the Secretary of State.
	I am advised by the chairman of Monitor that it is currently considering 27 applications from NHS trusts for NHSFT status. Of the 27, nine applications have been deferred from earlier waves, either at the request of the trusts themselves, or by Monitor's board. Applications cannot normally be deferred for a period of more than one year. The remaining 18 trusts received Secretary of State support in December 2006 to go forward to Monitor for potential authorisation from spring 2007 onwards.
	A further 12 trusts are preparing to submit an application for NHSFT status to Monitor in 2007. Subject to receiving Secretary of State's support, these trusts will apply to Monitor to be considered for authorisation from summer 2007. Further waves are set to follow.
	A list is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Application status  Trust 
			 Trusts deferred from earlier waves (by Monitor or self deferring) 1 Gloucestershire Partnership NHS Trust 
			  2 Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Trust 
			  3 Milton Keynes General Hospital NHS Trust 
			  4 North Essex Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust 
			  5 North Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Trust 
			  6 North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust 
			  7 St Helen's and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust 
			  8 Tameside and Glossop Acute Services NHS Trust 
			  9 York Hospitals NHS Trust 
			
			 Trusts approved by Secretary of State for potential authorisation by Monitor 1 Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust 
			  2 Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Trust 
			  3 Central and North West London Mental Health NHS Trust 
			  4 Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust 
			  5 Christie Hospital NHS Trust 
			  6 Cumbria Partnership NHS Trust 
			  7 Doncaster and South Humber Healthcare NHS Trust 
			  8 Dorset Health Care NHS Trust 
			  9 Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust 
			  10 Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust 
			  11 Leeds Mental Health Teaching NHS Trust 
			  12 Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust 
			  13 Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust 
			  14 Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust 
			  15 Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust 
			  16 Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust 
			  17 West Dorset General Hospitals NHS Trust 
			  18 Wirral Hospital NHS Trust 
			
			 Trusts preparing to submit an application to Secretary of State 1 Birmingham Women's Health Care NHS Trust 
			  2 Blackpool, Flyde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust 
			  3 Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust 
			  4 Derbyshire MH NHS Trust 
			  5 East London and The City Mental Health NHS Trust 
			  6 Lancashire Care NHS Trust 
			  7 Lincolnshire Partnerships NHS Trust 
			  8 Medway NHS Trust 
			  9 Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Trust 
			  10 Poole Hospital NHS Trust 
			  11 Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust 
			  12 The Cardiothoracic Centre - Liverpool NHS Trust

NHS: Religion

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on the guidance being developed by NHS employers on dress codes and religion or belief.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 5 March 2007
	After discussion with the Department and national health service trusts, NHS Employers has decided that given that each trust comprises of a work force unique to them, reflecting their local communities, national guidance is inappropriate and the way forward is to share best practice where like trusts can learn from each other.
	NHS Trusts have indicated to NHS Employers that they would like access to evidence and best practice from other parts of the NHS so that they can learn from others when developing their own local dress code policies. NHS Employers are currently pulling together a number of good practice examples, which they will make available on their website.

Organs: Donors

Anthony D Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have registered to donate their organs in each year since figures were first available.

Rosie Winterton: The number of individuals on the NHS Organ Donor Register is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number on the NHS Organ Donor Register each year 
			  Million 
			   Added in year  Total at end 
			 1994 0.14 0.14 
			 1995 2.21 2.35 
			 1996 1.39 3.74 
			 1997 0.92 4.66 
			 1998 0.87 5.53 
			 1999 1.51 7.04 
			 2000 1.23 8.27 
			 2001 0.74 9.01 
			 2002 1.08 10.09 
			 2003 0.87 10.96 
			 2004 0.96 11.92 
			 2005 1.01 12.93 
			 2006 1.04 13.97

Organs: Donors

Anthony D Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for people on the organ transplant list to receive a donation in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Median time waited (in days) on the active list to transplant in the United Kingdom, by year of transplant and transplant type, is show in the following table:
	
		
			   Kidney( 1)  Heart( 2)  Lung(s)  Liver( 2) 
			 1997 278 77 152 46 
			 1998 339 78 242 42 
			 1999 370 104 146 64 
			 2000 390 128 165 36 
			 2001 426 43 203 47 
			 2002 425 40 311 66 
			 2003 433 51 226 52 
			 2004 464 33 145 69 
			 2005 468 41 186 87 
			 2006 809 66 200 108 
			 (1) Living donor transplant cases excluded (2 )Urgent cases excluded

Osteoporosis

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what provision has been made for the allocation of Government funding towards osteoporosis treatment to remain ring-fenced;
	(2)  how much her Department allocated for expenditure on the treatment of osteoporosis in 2005-06; and how much was spent.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not hold data which links treatment to disease. Because of the number of different diagnostic and treatment episodes a patient with osteoporosis and any concurrent condition may undergo, the Department cannot record spending on an individual illness or condition.
	The capital provision of £17 million to improve national health service capacity in dual x-ray absorptiometer (DXA) scanning provision in the diagnosis of osteoporosis has been included in strategic health authorities' (SHA) strategic capital allocation and is not ring fenced. Whilst the Department does not monitor how SHA strategic capital is spent, it has been clear in its expectations that this funding is spent exclusively on DXA provision. In May 2006, the National Director for Older People, Professor Ian Philp, wrote to SHAs to highlight the importance of DXA scanning in delivering the relevant elements of the national service framework for older people.

Pregnant Women: Lancashire

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pregnant women in Lancashire were diagnosed with a mental illness  (a) during pregnancy and  (b) in the year after their pregnancy in each of the last 10 years.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not collected centrally. The Department does not collect information about diagnoses in primary care, so information about the number of people with a mental illness, and who are treated in primary care, is not available at primary care trust, county or national levels.
	However, the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence issued clinical guidance note CG45 on 28 February 2007 about treating antenatal and postnatal mental health and is available on its website at www.nice.org.uk. This estimates that one in seven women experience a mental health problem in the antenatal (during pregnancy) and postnatal (first year after giving birth) periods.

Waiting Lists: East Sussex

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting times in  (a) Eastbourne and  (b) East Sussex for treatment in (i) ear, nose and throat, (ii) general surgery, (iii) gynaecology, (iv) orthopaedics, (v) rheumatology, (vi) urology and (vii) pain relief specialities were in the last period for which figures are available.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is only available at primary care trust (PCT) level. The following tables detail the latest figures for average waiting times for the specialities requested for PCTs in East Sussex, based on the wait between consultant decision to admit and in-patient admission.
	
		
			  Commissioner based in-patient median waiting times for East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT and Hastings and Rother PCT, end of December 2006 
			   East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT Hastings and Rother PCT 
			  Specialty  Total number waiting  Median waiting time (weeks)  Total number waiting  Median waiting time (weeks) 
			 General surgery 667 8.2 236 7.3 
			 Urology 296 8.1 61 n/a 
			 Ear, nose and throat 575 10.0 173 9.5 
			 Anaesthetics 50 n/a 12 n/a 
			 Rheumatology 2 n/a 0 n/a 
			 Gynaecology 311 8.5 164 11.6 
		
	
	
		
			  Commissioner based in-patient median waiting times for East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT and Hastings and Rother PCT, end of January 2007 
			  Specialty—trauma and orthopaedics  Total number waiting  Median waiting time (weeks) 
			 East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 1,540 10.7 
			 Hastings and Rother PCT 1,000 12.3 
			  Notes: 1. East Sussex, Downs and Weald PCT is a merger between Eastbourne Downs PCT and Sussex Downs and Weald PCT (due to the recent PCT restructuring that took place in October 2006). In addition, Hastings and Rother PCT is a merger between Bexhill and Rother PCT and Hastings and St. Leonards PCT. 2. Medians are not provided for specialties with a total waiting list of less than 100 because this population is too small for a statistically meaningful median to be calculated. 3. Pain management data are collected as part of the anaesthetic specialty, and Orthopaedics is part of trauma and orthopaedics. It is not possible to break these down into constituent parts. 4. Data by specialty are collected on a quarterly basis apart from trauma and orthopaedics, which is collected monthly.  Source: Department, QF01 and Monthly Monitoring

Welfare Foods

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to ensure that those administering the Welfare Food scheme healthy start take the necessary steps to confirm the registration of the Wick Family Centre, formerly the Amherst Playgroup, account number 1845674.

Caroline Flint: Both the Amhurst Family Centre and Wick Family Centre are registered for the Welfare Food scheme. Amhurst Family Centre was registered in 2004 as supplier number 1845674. Wick Family Centre was registered in April 2006 as supplier number 1972054.
	Responsibility for registering and paying day care providers for provision of free milk through the welfare food scheme moved to a new contractor on 1 December 2006. Any day care provider wishing to discuss issues relating to their registration can contact the new Welfare Food Reimbursement Unit helpline on 08707 20 30 63.